Housing Policy and the Crisis

When looking at the current housing market, a natural question arises: How did we get here? This class will explore the rise and fall of the housing market in the 2000s, and discuss the impact on households, neighborhoods, financial markets, and the government. Topics include the mortgage securitization chain, the role of regulation and the GSEs, state and local support for low-income housing, the foreclosure crisis, and the future of the housing market and mortgage finance. No prerequisites, but you will be expected to read and interpret sophisticated empirical analysis from the economics and finance literatures.