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This paper examines the contribution of out-of-town second-house buyers to mispricing in the housing market. We show that demand from out-of-town second-house buyers during the mid 2000s predicted not only house-price appreciation rates but also impliedto- actual-rent-ratio appreciation rates, a proxy for mispricing. We then apply a novel identification strategy to address the issue of reverse causality. We give supporting evidence that out-of-town second-house buyers behaved like misinformed speculators, earning lower capital gains (misinformed) and consuming smaller dividends (speculators). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, it was taken as a given that an increased homeownership rate was a desirable goal. But after the financial crises and Great Recession, in which roughly eight million homes were foreclosed on and about $7 trillion in home equity was erased, economists and policymakers are re-evaluating the role of homeownership in the American Dream. Many question whether the American Dream should really include homeownership or instead focus more on other aspects of upward mobility, and most acknowledge that homeownership is not for everyone. We take a detailed look at US homeownership from three different perspectives: 1) an international perspective, comparing US homeownership rates with those of other nations; 2) a demographic perspective, examining the correlation between changes in the US homeownership rate between 1985 and 2015 and factors like age, race/ethnicity, education, family status, and income; 3) and, a financial benefits perspective, using national data since 2002 to calculate the internal rate of return to homeownership compared to alternative investments. Our overall conclusion: homeownership is a valuable institution. While two decades of policies in the 1990s and early 2000s may have put too much faith in the benefits of homeownership, the pendulum seems to have swung too far the other way, and many now may have too little faith in homeownership as part of the American Dream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author discusses the possibility of character development in the U.S. and the usefulness of teaching ethics focusing on the claims of the situationist on it. He states that character development is possible within the situationist framework as it allows local traits to be broadened and strengthened. He also comments on profession-specific character traits which have the ability to produce consistent behavior within professions.

This paper argues that the U.S. mortgage debacle must be analyzed in the broader setting of global real estate markets. Recent U.S. home price growth closely tracked increases in other developed economies. The analysis distinguishes among market regions in terms of supply elasticity and localized transactions-costs. A series of user-cost models are presented which imply that interest rate fluctuations must figure prominently in any explanation of movements in price/rent ratios. National factors such as the expansion of subprime credit must also be accounted for. The paper concludes with policy prescriptions addressing rapid price declines and elevated interestrate spreads. We argue that the federal government should play a leading role in helping to reduce interest rates on new mortgages and cushion against underwriting losses on the existing balance sheets of lenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first hints of trouble in the mortgage market surfaced in mid-2005, and conditions subsequently began to deteriorate rapidly. Mortgage defaults and delinquencies are particularly concentrated among borrowers whose mortgages are classified as “subprime” or “near-prime.” The main factors underlying the rise in mortgage defaults appear to be declines in house prices and deteriorated underwriting standards, in particular an increase in loan-to-value ratios and in the share of mortgages with little or no documentation of income. Contrary to popular perception, the growth in unconventional mortgages products, such as those with prepayment penalties, interest-only periods, and teaser interest rates, does not appear to be a significant factor in defaults through mid-2008 because borrowers who had problems with these products could refinance into different mortgages. However, as markets realized the extent of the poor underwriting, underwriting standards tightened and borrowers began to face difficulties refinancing; this dynamic suggests that these unconventional products could pose problems going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on school funding equalization and residential location for children and the elderly in the U.S. Definition of Tiebout sorting; Factors that affect the location decisions of households with children; Analysis of issues related to household sorting and school finance reforms.

Abstract--Environmental regulation in the United States has undergone a slow evolution from command and control strategies towards market-based regulations. One such innovation is the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), a regulation that requires polluting firms to publicly disclose information about their toxic emissions. The basic tenet of this regulation is that it corrects for informational asymmetries between polluters and households, allowing communities to pressure polluters to decrease their emissions. Policy-makers have judged the TRI a tremendous success, as national releases declined by 43% between 1988 and 1999. Yet many of the fundamental problems which are known to lead to the classic failure of the Coase theorem (such as high transaction costs and difficulties in organizing) cast doubt on the effectiveness of disclosure rules, alone, to lead to an efficient outcome in the case of pollution. We use an event study methodology with high-quality data on house prices and other local attributes to assess the extent to which the public values changes in toxic releases and thus the success of TRI. Our major findings include: (I) declines in toxic releases appear unrelated to any political economy variables that might lead to public activism; (2) initial information released under TRI had no significant effect on the distribution of house prices: and (3) house prices show no significant impact of declines in reported toxic releases over time. Standard errors are small enough that we can reject the hypothesis that large declines in toxic releases lead to more than a 0.5% increase in house prices. These results also hold when we control for differences in the availability of information on TRI and the possible effect of expectations. Our findings cast doubt on the ability of the public to process complex information on hazardous emissions and support the Coase theorem in that right-to-know laws such as TRI may not be the most effective form of environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which examined how U.S. government regulation affects the dynamics of the low-income housing stock. Framework of the filtering model to explain the effect of restrictions on new construction and rent control on the movement in units of low-income housing stock; Review of related literature; Examination of rent control through metropolitan statistical areas; Data on land-use regulation from the Wharton Urban Decentralization Project Data Set.

Discusses evidence from a variety of sources exploring the impact of location on the earnings of American households. Summary of trends in segregation by race and income; Exploration of reasons for the continuing racial and income segregation; Impact of spatial isolation on residents of poor neighborhoods.

Attempts to identify the impact of amenities on housing price levels within Eastern Massachusetts since 1982. Divides the Eastern Massachusetts region into small groups of similar towns and examines the pattern of price changes across those groups during the economic boom, bust, and recovery periods. Finding that housing affordability was the most important factor explaining price changes during the boom period; Other factors.

Demonstrates a large potential market for reverse mortgages and gives demand and supply explanations on the reasons for the small number of reverse mortgages. Types of reverse mortgages; Sample data; Reverse mortgage model; Benefits of the reverse mortgage; Difficulties in developing the reverse mortgage market. INSET: Computing the reverse mortgage payment..

Talks about the impact of monetary policy on housing investment in the U.S. as of May 2002. Demand factors for housing; Structural changes in the mortgage market.

Examines whether capitalization of school spending into house prices can encourage residents to support spending on schools in the U.S. Percentage of children enrolled in public schools; Differences across communities in the extent of house price capitalization; Increase in school expenditures in the country.

Investigates the adjustments made by the local government and private citizens to a demographically driven increase of school enrollments at Massachusetts between the 1980s and the 1990s. Impact of public school enrollment changes on school quality; Emergence of enrollment shifting trends during the 1990s.

The development and use of medical devices are subject to regulations and approval activities to enter the market. These are mandatory for manufacturers and have important implications for all involved professionals. In fact, the innovation process, starting from a clinical need, includes the identification of a solution and its implementation, and requires taking into account crucial aspects according to regulatory requirements in each phase. These include exemplary validation or risk management. The aim of this work is to provide an overview of some key aspects of regulation and their implementation in medical devices for vascular ageing assessment. In particular, regulatory scenarios in Europe, Australia and the United States of America are described and examples of marketed medical devices for vascular ageing assessment are provided. Strong and active links among industry, research, clinical experts and governments adds value for the community, requiring the ability to communicate between different skills and backgrounds: this multidisciplinary and multi-partner collaboration can speed up the innovation process and can increase the system's efficiency related to both social and ethical impact., (Copyright © 2021 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)