Michael D. Eriksen

Computer-assisted self-interviews: A cost effectiveness analysis

Computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) questionnaires are being used with increased frequency to deliver surveys that previously were administered via self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires (SAQs). Although CASI may offer a number of advantages, an important consideration for researchers is the assessment modality’s immediate and long-term costs. To facilitate researchers’ choice between CASI and SAQ, this article provides theoretical cost models with specific parameters for comparing the costs for each assessment type. Utilizing these cost models, this study compared the cost effectiveness in a health behavior study in which both CASI (n = 100) and SAQ (n = 100) questionnaires were administered. Given the high initial costs, CASI was found to be less cost effective than SAQ for a single study. However, for studies with large sample sizes or when CASI software is to be used for multiple studies, CASI would be more cost effective and should be the assessment mode of choice.

The Impact of Housing Vouchers on Mobility and Neighborhood Attributes

This paper examines the effect of receiving a housing voucher on the mobility and neighborhood attributes of low-income households. Housing policy has shifted towards vouchers in lieu of public housing projects to allow households to move away from high poverty areas. We use administrative records collected from an experiment to examine this issue. We find that households moved immediately after receiving the subsidy, but did not relocate to lower poverty neighborhoods until several quarters later. Our findings suggest that recipients initially lease in nearby units to secure the subsidy, while continuing to search for housing in lower poverty neighborhoods.

Housing Vouchers and the Price of Rental Housing

We estimate the effect of increasing the supply of housing vouchers on rents using a panel of housing units in the American Housing Survey. We do not find that an increase in vouchers affected the overall price of rental housing, but do estimate differences in effects based on an individual units rent before the voucher expansion. Our results are consistent with voucher recipients renting more expensive units after receiving the subsidy. We also find that the largest price increases were for units near the maximum allowable voucher rent in cities with an inelastic housing supply.

The Impact of Second Loans on Subprime Mortgage Defaults

An estimated 12.6% of primary mortgage loans were simultaneously originated with a second loan from 2004 until 2008, although relatively little is known about how the presence of such subordinate loans affects the default decisions of borrowers. We use a novel data series of loan servicing records from 2002 until 2010 to identify such borrowers and find evidence that the default behavior of these borrowers significantly differs from borrowers without second loans. Estimating a discrete-time proportional odds hazard model, we find borrowers with a second loan were 62.7% more likely to default each month on their primary loan when conditioning alone on the attributes of the primary loan. However, borrowers of second loans were 58.3% less likely to default on their primary loan as compared to single loan borrowers with equivalent current combined attributes (i.e., loan-to-value, balance, and interest rate). We hypothesize and provide empirical evidence this occurs because borrowers with second loans have the option to sequentially default on each loan since subordinate lenders will not pursue foreclosure if borrowers have insufficient equity. Lenders of defaulted subordinate debt may revisit their decision to foreclose in the future after housing markets start to recover, thus prompting a new round of foreclosures.

The Impact of Second Loans on Subprime Mortgage Defaults: The Impact of Second Loans on Subprime Mortgage Defaults

An estimated 12.6% of primary mortgage loans were simultaneously originated with a second loan from 2004 until 2008, although relatively little is known about how the presence of such subordinate loans affects the default decisions of borrowers. We use a novel data series of loan servicing records from 2002 until 2010 to identify such borrowers and find evidence that the default behavior of these borrowers significantly differs from borrowers without second loans. Estimating a discrete�?time proportional odds hazard model, we find borrowers with a second loan were 62.7% more likely to default each month on their primary loan when conditioning alone on the attributes of the primary loan. However, borrowers of second loans were 58.3% less likely to default on their primary loan as compared to single�?loan borrowers with equivalent current combined attributes (i.e., loan�?to�?value, balance and interest rate). We hypothesize and provide empirical evidence that this occurs because borrowers with second loans have the option to sequentially default on each loan since subordinate lenders will not pursue foreclosure if borrowers have insufficient equity. Lenders of defaulted subordinate debt may revisit their decision to foreclose in the future after housing markets start to recover, thus prompting a new round of foreclosures.

Overview and Proposed Reforms of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program provides a subsidy to developers who construct or rehabilitate rent-restricted housing units for 30 years. The program cost the US Government over

The Role of Parents on the Home Ownership Experience of Their Children: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

8.4 billion in lost tax revenue in 2017 and there is bipartisan support to expand future allocations by up to 50%. We provide an overview of the program and merits of the proposed increase in allocations. The analysis concludes by offering two alternative policy proposals that would increase the annual number of units subsidized under the program without increasing the aggregate dollar amount of allocations.

A BURNINGQUESTION: DOESARSONINCREASEWHENLOCALHOUSEPRICESDECLINE?: LOCALHOUSEPRICESANDARSON

We construct matched panel data sets of adult children with their parents to study the role of lagged parental attributes on subsequent home ownership decisions between 2000 and 2012. Earlier research has demonstrated inter-generational wealth transfers from parents to children are an important source of upfront equity used to purchase a first home, although parental attributes are often omitted as determinants of tenure due to data limitations. A significant role is found for lagged parental wealth on the ability of adult children to become and remain home owners over this period. Endowed differences in parental wealth are estimated to account for the largest explainable share of the white/non-white gap in becoming a homeowner, and maintaining home ownership once attained.

What are the social benefits of homeownership? Experimental evidence for low-income households

We construct panel data on house prices and the determined cause of 4.8 million individual fires in the United States between 1986 and 2010 to test whether decreases in local housing market prices coincided with increases in arson. Since some insured homeowners may attempt to disguise the actual cause of fire as accidental, we also examine how decreases in local house prices are associated with changes in the total number of fires and the probability of determined causes of accidental fires. For the sample period, our results suggest that declines in local house prices coincided with increases in arson, the total number of fires, and the probability that fires were determined to occur due to arson and misuse. We provide further support for the existence of such an effect with empirical evidence that the relation between declines in house prices and arson is stronger in states that allow mortgage lender recourse.