Government loan, guarantee, and grant programs: an evaluation

Government lending ; Small business ; Econometric models

A Benefit from the Division of Labor that Adam Smith Missed

This paper argues that there is an important benefit from the division of labor that Adam Smith failed to mention, that is, the division of labor shortens the time required for capital formation and makes continuous roundabout production possible. The paper presents a simple general equilibrium model to demonstrate this benefit, which is referred to as the “value of time†benefit of the division of labor.the division of labor, time structure of production, capital formation, transaction costs

To forgive or not to forgive : an analysis of U.S. consumer bankruptcy choices

Bankruptcy

Moving up: trends in homeownership and mortgage indebtedness.

Since the mid-1980s, important developments have taken place in the housing finance system. In the 1990s, the U.S. economy experienced the longest expansion in its history, marked by substantial growth in household income and wealth. In addition, Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, two laws favorable to homeowners. Therefore, it's not surprising that homeownership rates and the mortgage indebtedness of American families have also changed significantly. In "Moving Up: Trends in Homeownership and Mortgage Indebtedness," Wenli Li uses the University of Michigan's Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine the effects of these changes and how they vary across households.Home ownership ; Mortgage loans

What do we know about Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy filings?

Since 1980, the number of households filing for bankruptcy has more than tripled. This drastic increase in personal bankruptcy filings led to substantial debate among economists and policymakers. That debate subsequently resulted in the enactment of extensive reforms in 2005 when Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. Ultimately, the rationale for this legislation is the presumption that Chapter 13 leads to more appropriate outcomes compared with either Chapter 7 filings or other options outside bankruptcy. In “What Do We Know About Chapter 13 Personal Bankruptcy Filings,?” Wenli Li outlines the results of two recent studies that have taken a more detailed look at actual outcomes in Chapter 13. ; Also issued as Payment Cards Center Discussion Paper No. 07-17Bankruptcy

Residential housing and personal bankruptcy

Bankruptcy filings are on the rise, and millions of households have either lost their homes to foreclosure or are on the verge of losing them. One subject of debate amid this rising number of bankruptcies is how personal bankruptcy laws deal with residential housing. This subject centers on two main issues: First, how do personal bankruptcy laws affect the availability of mortgages and the terms on which borrowers obtain mortgages? Second, how do personal bankruptcy filings affect the outcome of mortgage foreclosures? In "Residential Housing and Personal Bankruptcy," Wenli Li discusses these questions and examines the economic literature to shed some light on the legislative and policy debates that are likely to recur after the current crisis is over.

FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

This paper presents a simple general equilibrium model of financial intermediation, entrepreneurship and economic growth. In this model, the role of financial intermediation is to pool savings and to lend the pooled funds to an entrepreneur, who in turn invests the funds in a new production technology. The adoption of the new production technology improves individual real income. Thus financial intermediation promotes economic growth through affecting individuals’ saving behaviour and enabling the adoption of a new production technology.financial intermediation, entrepreneurship, economic growth

Classical O(N) nonlinear sigma model on the half line: a study on consistent Hamiltonian description

The problem of consistent Hamiltonian structure for O(N) nonlinear sigma model in the presence of five different types of boundary conditions is considered in detail. For the case of Neumann, Dirichlet and the mixture of these two types of boundaries, the consistent Poisson brackets are constructed explicitly, which may be used, e.g. for the construction of current algebras in the presence of boundary. While for the mixed boundary conditions and the mixture of mixed and Dirichlet boundary conditions, we prove that there is no consistent Poisson brackets, showing that the mixed boundary conditions are incompatible with all nontrivial subgroups of $O((N)$.Comment: revtex4, 7pp, bibte