Working Paper
Why do borrowers make mortgage refinancing mistakes?
Rosen, Richard J.; Agarwal, Sumit; Yao, Vincent W. (2013)
Refinancing a mortgage is often one of the biggest and most important financial decisions that people make. Borrowers need to choose the interest rate differential at which to refinance and, when that differential is reached, they need to take the steps to refinance before rates change again. The optimal differential is where the interest saved by refinancing equals the sum of refinancing costs and the option value of refinancing. Using a unique panel data set, we find that approximately 59% of borrowers refinance sub-optimally ? with 52% of the sample making errors of commission (choosing ...
Working Paper Series , Paper WP-2013-02

Working Paper
Foreclosure externalities: Some new evidence
Willen, Paul S.; Gerardi, Kristopher S.; Yao, Vincent W.; Rosenblatt, Eric (2012)
In a recent set of influential papers, researchers have argued that residential mortgage foreclosures reduce the sale prices of nearby properties. We revisit this issue using a more robust identification strategy combined with new data that contain information on the location of properties secured by seriously delinquent mortgages and information on the condition of foreclosed properties. We find that while properties in virtually all stages of distress have statistically significant, negative effects on nearby home values, the magnitudes are economically small, peak before the distressed ...
FRB Atlanta Working Paper , Paper 2012-11

Journal Article
Sales of Distressed Residential Property: What Have We Learned from Recent Research?
Cohen, Jeffrey P.; Yao, Vincent W.; Coughlin, Cletus C. (2016)
During the housing bust many homeowners found themselves ?underwater??the amount they owed on their mortgages exceeded the value of the associated property?and they either could not or possibly chose not to stay current on their mortgage payments. As a consequence, sales of so-called distressed properties, often after a foreclosure, became commonplace. This spurred numerous research papers on various related issues. The authors? review summarizes the research findings on three topics: the impact of changes in housing prices on foreclosures; the impact of foreclosure on the sales price of the ...
Review , Volume 98 , Issue 3 , Pages 159-88

Journal Article
A spatial analysis of income inequality in Arkansas at the county level: evidence from tax and commuting data
Yao, Vincent W.; Shelnutt, John P. (2005-11)
Regional Economic Development , Issue Nov , Pages 52-65

Discussion Paper
Foreclosure externalities: some new evidence
Willen, Paul S.; Gerardi, Kristopher S.; Yao, Vincent W.; Rosenblatt, Eric (2012)
In a recent set of influential papers, researchers have argued that residential mortgage foreclosures reduce the sale prices of nearby properties. We revisit this issue using a more robust identification strategy combined with new data that contain information on the location of properties secured by seriously delinquent mortgages and information on the condition of foreclosed properties. We find that while properties in virtually all stages of distress have statistically significant, negative effects on nearby home values, the magnitudes are economically small, peak before the distressed ...
Public Policy Discussion Paper , Paper 12-5

Discussion Paper
Do People Leave Money on the Table? Evidence from Joint Mortgage Applications and the Minimum FICO Rule
Yao, Vincent W.; Wu, Weifeng; Li, Geng (2016-03-28)
There is mounting evidence that households make suboptimal savings and investment decisions. this note presents novel evidence that many mortgage borrowers appear to have failed to apply for mortgages that give the lowest interest rates.
FEDS Notes , Paper 2016-03-28

Journal Article
Intra-NAFTA trade and surface traffic: a very disaggregated view
Funk, Mark; Yao, Vincent W.; Vibhakar, Ashvin; Elder, Erick (2006-10)
Regional Economic Development , Issue Oct , Pages 87-99