Casey B. Mulligan
Casey B. Mulligan's Latest Articles | 35
The Short Run Elasticity of Housing Supply
The elasticity of housing supply is the effect on the flow of home building (measured as a log change — think of it as a percentage change) of the inflation-adjusted... Read »
How Much has the Government Subsidized the Mortgage Market?
By subsidies, I mean the ex poste increase in the net worth of owners of mortgages, or pieces of mortgages, as the result of: government purchases of mortgages,... Read »
Tell-Tale Sign
In 2008, I was of the opinion that easy monetary policy cannot explain much of the housing boom. When Professors Krugman and Delong came to agree with me, I immediately... Read »
Does “Making Work Pay” Actually Make Work Pay, or Raise GDP?
The “Stimulus” law’s single most expensive provision was “Making Work Pay”. It is a $400 tax credit to persons with ANNUAL earnings... Read »
Supply Matters, Even During Deep Recessions
“Traditionally, many economists have been leery of prolonged unemployment benefits because they can reduce the incentive to seek work. But that should not... Read »
Incentives and Lags
Means-tested mortgage modification punishes people for having high incomes, and rewards them for having low incomes. I have pointed out that this may cause home... Read »
Double Dip Scenario?
A report says that a very large number of commercial real estate loans are underwater, and commerical mortgage modification is on the horizon. Undoubtably, that... Read »
Payroll Data: More Women Working than Men
Today the BLS revised its previous estimates of nonfarm payroll employees, the monthly aggregate employment series that gets the most media attention. Their most... Read »
Foreclosures, Enforcement, and Collections Under the Federal Mortgage Modification Guidelines
With the intentions of preventing foreclosures and strengthening the financial system, the FDIC and the U.S. Treasury have created guidelines for modifying mortgages,... Read »
Much Fewer than 10% of Americans are Unemployed
Both Democrats and Republicans last night said that “10% of Americans are unemployed.” That is incorrect. The United States Census Bureau says that 15... Read »






