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Means-Tested Mortgage Modification: Homes Saved or Income Destroyed?

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Casey B. Mulligan

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Abstract

This paper uses the theories of price discrimination and optimal taxation to investigate effects of underwater mortgages on foreclosures and the incentives to earn income, and the degree to which those effects are shaped by public policy. I find that the federal government’s means-tested mortgage modification plan creates a massive implicit tax that may be significant even from a macroeconomic perspective. An alternative of modifying mortgages to maximize lender collections would also feature means tests, but with less effort distortion and perhaps fewer foreclosures. The paper also considers the consequences of a public policy that left mortgage modification to lenders, subject to a requirement that modification would not be conditioned on borrower income.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 15281.

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Date of creation: Aug 2009
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15281

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution
H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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  1. Casey B. Mulligan, 2001. "Aggregate Implications of Indivisible Labor," NBER Working Papers 8159, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Ljungqvist, Lars & Sargent, Thomas J., 2007. "Understanding European unemployment with a representative family model," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(8), pages 2180-2204, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Kahn, Charles M & Yavas, Abdullah, 1994. "The Economic Role of Foreclosures," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 35-51, January.
  4. Casey B. Mulligan, 2001. "Aggregate Implications of Indivisible Labor," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 0(1). [Downloadable!]
  5. Edlin, Aaron S, 1993. "Is College Financial Aid Equitable and Efficient?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 143-58, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Bernanke, Ben S, 1983. "Nonmonetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in Propagation of the Great Depression," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(3), pages 257-76, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Michelle J. White & Ning Zhu, 2008. "Saving Your Home in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy," NBER Working Papers 14179, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Mirrlees, James A, 1971. "An Exploration in the Theory of Optimum Income Taxation," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(114), pages 175-208, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Chiang, Raymond & Spatt, Chester S, 1982. "Imperfect Price Discrimination and Welfare," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(2), pages 155-81, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Dick, Andrew W. & Edlin, Aaron S., 1997. "The implicit taxes from college financial aid," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 295-322, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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