Selected Research Topics in Housing Finance. (RE-ANNOUNCEMENT of PB85-126712-see notes field for explanation)

摘要

Although housing finance has been the object of considerable Federal expenditure as well as economic analysis in recent years, areas requiring further research are (1) the impact of public policy on housing production and (2) mortgage market structure, performance, and housing. One issue pertaining to the impact of public policy on housing production is the net effect of subsidized new units on housing activity. This issue requires a straightforward cost-benefit evaluation of explicityly subsidized housing. Another issue is how to measure the implicit subsidies in credit programs and the net impact on housing activity. The nature and magnitude of implicit subsidies should be made explicit because they are needed for a cost-benefit analysis of credit programs and are crucial to understanding the issues of federalization of the mortgage market. Also, it might be appropriate for Congress and its budget committees to monitor credit program subsidies in an expenditure budget similar to the recently created tax-expenditure budget. Another research issue pertaining to the iimpact of public policy on housing production is the determination of the importance of coordinating housing credit programs. Research relevant to the mortgage market structure, performance, and housing should focus on (1) determining the meanings and implications of imperfections in the mortgage market, (2) innovations in the mortgage market, and (3) financial reform, notably the deregulation of financial institutions. Many of the research topics mentioned focus on implicit credit subsidies aimed at stimulating housing activity. These are well worth pursuing if only because such attempts at subsidization are the dominant feature of Federal housing policy. Unless the research efforts indicate that there is a substantially greater impact on housing of implicit credit subsidies, there is a strong case for switching to explicitly subsidized programs. Such an approach reduces the uncertainty of the cost-benefit calculation. Eight footnotes are provided.