Amenities and the returns to human capital

A demonstration that regional differences in the returns to human capital do not necessarily imply structural differences in regional labor markets, but could be reflecting compensation for regional differences in amenities.Labor market ; Wages

Interurban comparisons of the quality of life

A methodology is developed for constructing quality-of-life comparisons for metropolitan areas in which the full bundle of an area's attributes is valued, rather than the typical method of focusing on individual characteristics.Cost and standard of living ; Regional economics

Productivity growth and the decline of manufacturing in large metropolitan areas: 1959-78

An examination of the role of productivity differences in explaining the decline of manufacturing activity in large metropolitan areas relative to the rest of the country, with special attention given to the decline of the large metropolitan areas of the Manufacturing Belt.Manufactures ; Industrial location

Identifying amenity and productivity cities using wage and rent differentials

An explanation of how regional wage and rent differentials can be used to classify metropolitan areas according to their amenity and productivity characteristics.Wages ; Cities and towns

Identifying productivity and amenity effects in interurban wage differentials

This study focuses on the relative importance of amenity and productivity differences in determining wage differentials across urban areas. The approach developed takes advantage of the connection between land and labor market clearing conditions required for locational equilibrium of households and firms. Data on recent movers are used to estimate equilibrium wages and rents for a sample of metropolitan areas. This information is then used to identify amenity and productivity components of wages for each city in the sample. Using national estimates of the relative share of land in consumption and production, differences in productivity and amenities are found to be roughly equal sources of wage variation across the sample.Wages ; Labor supply

Neighborhood information and home mortgage lending.

An examination of how information about a neighborhood affects the level of lending activity in it--specifically, whether lenders deny mortgage applications at higher rates in neighborhoods where they have little experience in evaluating applications and/or where the lending community in general lacks such experience.Mortgages ; Discrimination in mortgage loans

Home mortgage lending by the numbers

A look at some of the issues associated with reports that minority applicants for home mortgage loans are far more likely than whites to be denied credit. The authors raise the concern that simple comparisons of denial rates are not sufficient for grasping the complexities surrounding community-oriented lending.Mortgages ; Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 ; Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

Lender consistency in housing credit markets

An examination of how and why individual financial institutions vary in their propensity to attract and approve mortgage applications from minorities, using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.Mortgages ; Housing - Finance ; Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

Posted rates as signals in mortgage lending markets

A discussion of how mortgage lenders might use posted lending terms to signal both their eagerness to take new loan applications and their lending standards.Mortgages ; Interest rates