Category: Theory

Microfinance, American style: Part 1, the bad

26 October, 2009 (12:13) | Capital markets, Finance, Innovations, Microfinance, Regulation, Subprime, Theory, US News | No comments

By: David A. Smith
 
In business, does motivation matter?  Or are markets sufficiently rational that our apologias are meaningless, and we should be judged exclusively by our actions?  This philosophical question lies submerged under every new lender and loan product, for every action – extending or denying credit, charging too high a rate – can be [...]

A glut by any other name

20 October, 2009 (10:07) | Affordability, Apartments, Asset management, Demand, Housing, New York City, Theory, US News | No comments

By: David A. Smith
 
… is affordability?
 

Am I up when you’re down?
 
When the homeownership rate drops, what happens to apartment occupancy?  As illustrated by this Wall Street Journal article, the answer depends on two factors:
 
1. Why homeownership rates are dropping
2. How long it has been since the homeownership drop began
 
Start with a fact. 
 

Start with [...]

Essential actors in affordable housing delivery

13 October, 2009 (10:54) | Global news, Innovations, MEEs, Research, Theory, US News | No comments

By: David A. Smith
 
Last week in Washington, as part of the World Habitat Day activities, AHI – in partnership with the National Housing Conference as host and the Housing Partnership Network as a co-sponsor – issued and discussed the Extract of our report, Mission Entrepreneurial Entities: Essential Actors in Affordable Housing Delivery.
 

It’s all about [...]

AHI’s World Habitat Day Event: Essential Actors in Affordable Housing Delivery

28 September, 2009 (10:24) | Ecosystems, MEEs, Markets, Research, Theory, UN Habitat, World Habitat Day | No comments

By: David A. Smith
 
As part of the multi-day World Habitat Day activities, AHI, along with the National Housing Conference and the Housing Partnership Network, will be sponsoring a presentation and panel discussion on a topic that we think has great relevance, both in the Global South and back home in America.
 

Being hosted in Washington for [...]

Borderline behavior

25 September, 2009 (12:12) | Humor, Massachusetts, Politics, Regulation, Taxation, Theory | No comments

By: David A. Smith
 
Just as bad facts make for bad law, bad laws make for bad behavior and bad administration.  Nowhere are these contradictions more visible than when adjacent jurisdictions that have a shared interest in macroeconomic health think they can get away with boundary exploitation by taxing more on our side of the fence [...]