Simplifying Complex Disclosures: Evidence from Disclosure Regulation in the Mortgage Markets

Discounting in Mortgage Markets

Price Negotiation in Differentiated Products Markets: Evidence from the Canadian Mortgage Market

This paper measures market power in a decentralized market where contracts are determined through a search and negotiation process. The mortgage industry has many institutional features which suggest competitiveness: homogeneous contracts, negotiable rates, and, for a given consumer, common lending costs across lenders. As a result, even with a small number of lenders, informed borrowers can ga...

The Effects of Disclosure Regulation: Evidence from Restaurants

This study examines the e ect of increased product information to consumers on rm behavior. In 1998, Los Angeles County introduced hygiene quality grade cards to be displayed in restaurant windows. This regulatory change provides exogenous variation in whether rms are subject to voluntary disclosure (of hygiene quality) without a standard-format, voluntary disclosure with a standard-format or m...

Credit Availability and Economic Decisions: Some Evidence from the Mortgage and Housing Markets

Credit Spreads: Evidence from the Mortgage Market

Using micro-level data from the mortgage market, we examine yield spreads as a funnction of both credit risk and prepayment risk using a two-stage instrumental variable approach. Our results are consistent with findings in the finance literature that leverageinduced financial risk reflected in capital structure results in higher yield spreads on debt. In particular, borrowers with loan-to-value...