Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—privately managed, profit-seeking government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—played a crucial role in inflating America’s housing bubble. Now that the bubble has burst and the GSEs’ mistakes have resulted in huge taxpayer losses, their role must be rethought. In this compendium, six leading mortgage and real-estate finance scholars present their proposals to reform America’s housing finance system in ways that are productive yet sensitive to the fragile state of the current recovery. Each proposal considers how to protect taxpayers from future losses associated with the GSEs, increase the role of private capital in financing mortgages, and maintain a safe and robust system to channel capital to able borrowers.
About the editor
Satya Thallam is deputy director of research and policy at the Law and Economics Center at George Mason University. Previously, he was the director of the Financial Markets Working Group at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
About the foreword writer
Edward Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He is also the director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and director of the Rappaport Institute of Greater Boston.
About the contributors
Dwight M. Jaffee is the Willis Booth Professor of Banking, Finance, and Real Estate at the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.
Arnold S. Kling is a founder and co-editor of EconLog, an economics blog. He has previously served as an economist in the Federal Reserve System and as a senior economist at Freddie Mac. He is an affiliated senior scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he is also a member of the Financial Markets Working Group.
Michael Lea is the director of the Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate at San Diego State University. He has more than 25 years of financial services industry experience and has held senior executive positions at several major financial institutions in the United States.
Anthony B. Sanders is a senior scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is a professor of finance at the School of Management at George Mason University where he is the Distinguished Professor of Real Estate Finance. He has previously served as director and head of asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities research at Deutsche Bank in New York.
Peter J. Wallison is a lawyer and the Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He has held several positions in government, including general counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department and White House counsel to President Ronald Reagan.
Lawrence J. White is the Arthur E. Imperatore Professor of Economics at New York University's Stern School of Business and deputy chair of the economics department. He has previously served as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. He is a member of the Mercatus Center’s Financial Markets Working Group.
About the editor
Satya Thallam is deputy director of research and policy at the Law and Economics Center at George Mason University. Previously, he was the director of the Financial Markets Working Group at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
About the foreword writer
Edward Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He is also the director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and director of the Rappaport Institute of Greater Boston.
About the contributors
Dwight M. Jaffee is the Willis Booth Professor of Banking, Finance, and Real Estate at the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.
Arnold S. Kling is a founder and co-editor of EconLog, an economics blog. He has previously served as an economist in the Federal Reserve System and as a senior economist at Freddie Mac. He is an affiliated senior scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he is also a member of the Financial Markets Working Group.
Michael Lea is the director of the Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate at San Diego State University. He has more than 25 years of financial services industry experience and has held senior executive positions at several major financial institutions in the United States.
Anthony B. Sanders is a senior scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is a professor of finance at the School of Management at George Mason University where he is the Distinguished Professor of Real Estate Finance. He has previously served as director and head of asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities research at Deutsche Bank in New York.
Peter J. Wallison is a lawyer and the Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He has held several positions in government, including general counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department and White House counsel to President Ronald Reagan.
Lawrence J. White is the Arthur E. Imperatore Professor of Economics at New York University's Stern School of Business and deputy chair of the economics department. He has previously served as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. He is a member of the Mercatus Center’s Financial Markets Working Group.
