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Journal Article
Recent Changes in U.S. Family Finances: Results from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances
Using data from the Federal Reserve Board's two most recent Surveys of Consumer Finances, this article provides a detailed picture of changes in the financial condition of U.S. families between 1995 and 1998. The financial situation of families changed notably in the three-year period. While income continued a moderate upward trend, net worth grew strongly, and the increase in net worth was broadly shared by different demographic groups. A booming stock market accounts for a substantial part of the rise in net worth, but the data also suggest that improvements in financial circumstances ...
Journal Article
Recent changes in U. S. family finances: results from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances
Using data from the Federal Reserve Board's two most recent Surveys of Consumer Finances, this article provides a detailed picture of changes in the financial condition of U.S. families between 1995 and 1998. The financial situation of families changed notably in the three-year period. While income continued a moderate upward trend, net worth grew strongly, and the increase in net worth was broadly shared by different demographic groups. A booming stock market accounts for a substantial part of the rise in net worth, but the data also suggest that improvements in financial circumstances ...
Working Paper
The effects of two-year college on the labor market and schooling experiences of young men
This paper uses the NLSY to examine (1) the returns to two-year college, (2) whether attendance at a two-year college helps students to transfer to four-year college, and (3) whether reducing tuition would alter attendance enough to affect labor outcomes. I find that the returns to a year of two-year college are large (7 to 10 percent). Completing an associate's degree raises wages further. One year of two-year credits has the same effect on subsequent four-year attendance as one year of four-year credits. Finally, simulations show that reducing tuition could raise income modestly by ...
Working Paper
Have the doors opened wider? trends in homeownership rates by race and income
Homeownership among U.S. families increased notably in recent years, from 63.9% in 1989 to 66.2% in 1998. This paper examines this trend and the factors contributing to it. We find that (1) homeownership has risen for all racial, ethnic, and income groups, (2) the differences in homeownership between minority and non-minority families and between middle- income and lower-income families declined significantly, and (3) changes in family-related characteristics explain homeownership trends among only the top two income quintiles. Among the lower two income quintiles, family-related ...
Journal Article
Distribution of Credit Risk Among Providers of Mortgages to Lower-Income and Minority Homebuyers
Which institutions bear the credit risk for mortgage lending to lower-income and minority borrowers and in lower-income and predominantly minority neighborhoods? In seeking to answer those questions, the authors went beyond looking at mortgage credit risk in terms of numbers or amounts of loans and developed measures based on factors that affect the riskiness of loans, including loan-to-value ratios and associated default and loss severity rates. In 1995, a nonprofit government mortgage insurer, the Federal Housing Administration, was the major bearer of credit risk for mortgage lending to ...