Dynamic Credit Rationing in the Home Mortgage Market

In this study a model of dynamic credit rationing in the home mortgage market by a profit-maximizing financial institution is developed.In the 1960s and 1970s it was widely believed that credit rationing was very important in the mortgage market. The recent deregulation and innovation in financial markets is belived to have resulted in a significant weakening of these availability effects. For the model developed it is shown that deposit diversification, such as the introduction of money market accounts in 1978, would tend to reduce the amount of any dynamic credit rationing that was occurring. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.

Major histocompatibility complex class II-restricted presentation of a cytosolic antigen by autophagy.

Biochemical and functional studies have demonstrated major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-restricted presentation of peptides derived from cytosolic proteins, but the underlying processing and presentation pathways have remained elusive. Here we show that endogenous presentation of an epitope derived from the cytosolic protein neomycin phosphotransferase II (NeoR) on MHC classII is mediated by autophagy. This presentation pathway involves the sequestration of NeoR into autophagosomes, and subsequent delivery into the lytic compartment. These results identify endosomes/lysosomes as the processing compartment for cytosolic antigens and furthermore link endogenous antigen presentation on MHC class II with the process of cellular protein turnover by autophagy

Diverse CD8+ T-cell responses to renal cell carcinoma antigens in patients treated with an autologous granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor gene-transduced renal tumor cell vaccine.

A phase I clinical trial with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor tumor cell vaccines in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) showed immune cell infiltration at vaccine sites and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses to autologous tumor cells indicative of T-cell immunity. To further characterize RCC T-cell responses and identify relevant RCC-associated antigens, we did a detailed analysis of CD8+ T-cell responses in two vaccinated RCC patients who generated the greatest magnitude of DTH response and also displayed a strong clinical response to vaccination (>90% reduction in metastatic tumor volume). Three separate CD8+ T-cell lines (and subsequent derived clones) derived from patient 24 recognized distinct RCC-associated antigens. One recognized a shared HLA-A*0201-restricted antigen expressed by both renal cancer cells and normal kidney cells. This recognition pattern correlated with a positive DTH test to normal kidney cells despite no evidence of impairment of renal function by the patient's remaining kidney after vaccination. A second line recognized a shared HLA-C7-restricted antigen that was IFN-γ inducible. A third line recognized a unique HLA-A*0101-restricted RCC antigen derived from a mutated KIAA1440 gene specific to the tumor. In addition, two independent CTL lines and three clones were also generated from patient 26 and they recognized autologous tumor cells restricted through HLA-A*0205, HLA-A/B/C, and HLA-B/C. These results show that paracrine granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor tumor vaccines may generate a diverse repertoire of tumor-reactive CD8+ T-cell responses and emphasize the importance of polyvalency in the design of cancer immunotherapies

The Resale Housing Market

This paper describes and analyzes the structure and operation of the market for existing single-family homes. The paper develops aggregative models of sales and renovation activity based on the adjustment choice decisions of households to alter their housing consumption by moving or by undertaking renovations. The models demonstrate that housing resales and renovation expenditures occur when the present value of the gains associated with a housing adjustment exceeds the costs of the transaction. The choice of the adjustment mode is shown to be significantly influenced by the relative transactions costs of moving versus renovating. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.

Bank Real Estate Lending and the New England Capital Crunch

The stock of real estate loans held by New England banks has declined dramatically. Given the limited potential for real estate investments, weak demand for real estate loans is to be expected. However, supply as well as demand factors may account for some of the decline in bank real estate loans. This paper documents that bank lending for real estate may have been constrained by a capital crunch, whereby poorly capitalized banks shrank their assets, including real estate loans, to satisfy capital requirements. Because the loss of bank capital is so widespread in New England, bank-dependent borrowers may have difficulty obtaining real estate financing. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.

Screening Ethics when Honest Agents Keep their Word

Ethics, Honesty, Loyalty, Adverse selection, Screening, D82,

A Critical Analysis of Housing Finance reform in a 'super' homeownership state: the case of Armenia

Communist countries in central and eastern Europe commonly lacked market-based mortgage finance systems. The establishment of such systems is generally regarded as being a crucial part of the transition process across the region, even though the emphasis placed on home-ownership varies greatly. A framework for analysing the adequacy of the housing reform process is applied to Armenia as an example of a 'super' home-ownership state. The housing, economic and political context suggests that, even if an efficient mortgage finance system were to be established, the housing needs of large sections of the population would remain unmet. This is because they would still be unable to afford to access finance or because of the nature of their housing need. Such is the prevalence of housing need and poverty that conventional subsidy programmes, no matter how well designed, are unlikely to fill the gap. Instead, there is a need to draw on examples from development literature, such as micro-finance, whereby relatively small loans aimed at improving the quality of often self-built housing without full legal title are made available. The system of micro-finance relies on connecting individuals with the formal financial system usually through an NGO and can be combined with the provision of core housing units for low- to moderate-income households. In the case of Armenia, if confidence in the banking system is not restored, it would still be necessary to create a formal financial sector, quite possibly on the principles of low-risk retail operations. A large challenge would remain to 'collectivise' micro-finance for use in multifamily apartments. While the need for sources of finance outside the formal system remains especially acute in Armenia, these solutions may be relevant to other transition economies, especially those with large home-owner sectors, self-built housing and widespread povert