Essays on housing and public economics

The following essays examine households decisions related to public policy in the housing market. Chapter 1 evaluates the Homeowner Affordability Modification Program by modeling and structurally estimating the mortgage default decision and then investigating household responsiveness to default relative to mortgage value. Chapter 2 studies the consumer response to the First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit using a difference-in-difference approach comparing the demand response of eligible household to ineligible households. Chapter 3 investigates mortgage foreclosures related to financial incentives of the foreclosure process by comparing variation across states in the length of the foreclosure process and the requirement for judicial review of foreclosure using a regression discontinuity across state borders.