The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• European Mortgage Markets – European Mortgage Federation
• Romano Prodi: “We can show leadership in Europe now in support of affordable housing” An interview with the former European Commission President – Housing Europe
• An action plan for affordable housing in the EU – Housing Europe
• The Sharing Economy and Housing Affordability: What Impact? What Solutions? – Housing Europe

On the US:

• Dynamism Diminished: The Role of Housing Markets and Credit Conditions – University of Chicago
• Zoning Reform Alone Won’t Make Housing More Affordable – Bloomberg
• How Affordable Housing Can Improve the American Economy – Citylab
• No, Zoning Reform Isn’t Magic. But It’s Crucial. – Citylab
• Fewer Homes for Median Earners – New York Times
• Perspectives on Housing Supply and Affordability – NYU Furman Center
• The Airbnb Effect: It’s Not Just Rising Home Prices – Citylab
• Does Upzoning Boost the Housing Supply and Lower Prices? Maybe Not. – Citylab
• Mortgage Risk Since 1990 – Federal Housing Finance Agency
• In my back yard: Neighbourhood spillovers in mortgage foreclosure – VoxEU
• The Airbnb Effect: It’s Not Just Rising Home Prices – Citylab
• Upzoning Chicago: Impacts of a Zoning Reform on Property Values and Housing Construction – Urban Affairs Review
• Federal Reserve policy and housing: A goal too far – Economic Analysis and Policy
• What Modern-Day Housing Discrimination Looks Like: A Conversation with the National Fair Housing Alliance – Zillow
• How Minimum Zoning Mandates Can Improve Housing Markets and Expand Opportunity – The Aspen Institute
• To overcome its housing crisis, Calfornia needs YIMBY to become the new NIMBY – Los Angeles Times
• Mortgage rates fall on worries about global economy – MarketWatch

On other countries:

• [Australia] Australia’s Housing Downturn Deepens as Prices Hit 2016 Levels – Bloomberg
• [Australia] RBA Seen Riding Out Australia Property Slump If Jobs Stay Robust – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Australia Keeps Rates on Hold Despite Pressure from Property Slump – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Canada’s banking regulator says mortgage stress test must be monitored – Reuters
• [Netherlands] Dutch banks see market share in home mortgage lending stabilize – De Nederlandsche Bank
• [New Zealand] The New Zealand real estate problem, with reference to Palmerston North – Marginal Revolution
• [Nigeria] Land grabbers resurgence in Lagos threatens homeownership – The Guardian
• [Panama] Panama’s property prices are booming – Global Property Guide
• [United Kingdom] Would rent controls work in London? – Financial Times

Photo by Aliis Sinisalu

From the IMF’s latest report on Italy:

From the IMF’s latest report on Poland:

“Current strong housing demand is financed to a greater extent than before the GFC with buyers’ own resources. Rising construction costs have slowed the supply of new housing, and nominal house prices in some regions have risen to pre-GFC levels. Nonetheless, affordability remains comfortable owing to strong growth of household incomes.”

From Conversable Economist:

“Steve Hanke has devoted considerable effort to building up data on hyperinflations during the last century or so. He offers a quick overview of this work in Forbes (January 20, 2019). Below is his list of hyperinflations. When it comes to Venezuela, he writes:

Now, let’s turn to the world’s only current hyperinflation: Venezuela. It ranks as the 23rd most severe. Today, the annual rate of inflation is 120,810%/yr. While this rate is modest by hyperinflation standards, the duration of Venezuela’s hyperinflation episode, as of today, is long: 27 months. Only four episodes of hyperinflation have been more long-lived.

Here’s the table of all 58 hyperinflations:”

 

From a working paper by Sandra Polaski:

“This paper reviews the erosion of labor and social protections for U.S. workers and households over recent decades. It discusses the causes and the relative weight of different elements of the erosion in order to bring clarity to the discussion of needed reforms. It proposes a framework of policy objectives and principles to guide choices for reform among policy alternatives in the specific U.S. context. The paper also explores the relative merits of some alternative proposals to address these challenges. The prospects for political and legislative action to create a viable modern social and labor protection system are discussed. The paper concludes that updating and strengthening existing elements of the U.S. system provides a firm foundation for creating an adequate U.S. labor and social protection floor for the 21st century, if critical additional rights and programs are built on and integrated into this foundation.”