Global Housing Kolb series - Robert W. Kolb by Ashok Bardhan & Robert H Edelstein & Cynthia A Kroll Hardcover

About the Book

"A global look at the reasons behind the recent economic collapse, and the responses to itThe speculative bubble in the housing market began to burst in the United States in 2007, and has been followed by ruptures in virtually every asset market in almost every country in the world. Each country proposed a range of policy initiatives to deal with its crisis. Policies that focused upon stabilizing the housing market formed the cornerstone of many of these proposals. This internationally focused book evaluates the genesis of the housing market bubble, the global viral contagion of the crisis, and the policy initiatives undertaken in some of the major economies of the world to counteract its disastrous affects. Unlike other books on the global crisis, this guide deals with the housing sector in addition to the financial sector of individual economies. Countries in many parts of the world were players in either the financial bubble or the housing bubble, or both, but the degree of impact, outcome, and responses varied widely. This is an appropriate time to pull together the lessons from these various experiences.Reveals the housing crisis in the United States as the core of the meltdownDescribes the evolution of housing markets and policies in the run-up to the crisis, their impacts, and the responses in European and Asian countriesCompares experiences and linkages across countries and points to policy implications and research lessons drawn from these experiencesFilled with the insights of well-known contributors with strong contacts in practice and academia, this timely guide discusses the history and evolution of the recent crisis as local to each contributor's part of the world, and examines its distinctive and common features with that of the U.S., the trajectory of its evolution, and the similarities and differences in policy response"--

Book Synopsis

A global look at the reasons behind the recent economic collapse, and the responses to it

The speculative bubble in the housing market began to burst in the United States in 2007, and has been followed by ruptures in virtually every asset market in almost every country in the world. Each country proposed a range of policy initiatives to deal with its crisis. Policies that focused upon stabilizing the housing market formed the cornerstone of many of these proposals. This internationally focused book evaluates the genesis of the housing market bubble, the global viral contagion of the crisis, and the policy initiatives undertaken in some of the major economies of the world to counteract its disastrous affects.

Unlike other books on the global crisis, this guide deals with the housing sector in addition to the financial sector of individual economies. Countries in many parts of the world were players in either the financial bubble or the housing bubble, or both, but the degree of impact, outcome, and responses varied widely. This is an appropriate time to pull together the lessons from these various experiences.

• Reveals the housing crisis in the United States as the core of the meltdown
• Describes the evolution of housing markets and policies in the run-up to the crisis, their impacts, and the responses in European and Asian countries
• Compares experiences and linkages across countries and points to policy implications and research lessons drawn from these experiences

Filled with the insights of well-known contributors with strong contacts in practice and academia, this timely guide discusses the history and evolution of the recent crisis as local to each contributor's part of the world, and examines its distinctive and common features with that of the U.S., the trajectory of its evolution, and the similarities and differences in policy response.

From the Back Cover

GLOBAL HOUSING MARKETS

The subprime crisis that began in the United States in 2007 sent the world into an unprecedented financial crisis. The contagion in financial markets quickly became very clear, affecting countries from France, Ireland, and Iceland to Singapore, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, as well as some emerging economies to a lesser extent.

As the dust settles, we are just now beginning to gain a better understanding of exactly why some countries were more vulnerable than others, as well as how real estate markets were really affected. But many questions still remain. That's why Global Housing Markets, part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance, has been created.

Comprised of contributed chapters from leading academics, researchers, and practitioners from around the world, this timely resource explores how the contagion spread to housing markets throughout the world, the paths and transmission mechanisms by which it spread, and the institutional and regulatory context in which policy measures were adopted in response to the spreading crisis.

Divided into five comprehensive parts--each primarily grouping together nations along geographic lines, although there are other shared characteristics among the national market settings in each section--Global Housing Markets skillfully:

• Details the U.S. housing crisis as it emerged and its interconnections with the financial system and crisis; analyzes the U.S. policy framework and its contributions, and responses, to the crisis; and discusses the degree to which they succeeded as well as the issues that remain.
• Examines the impact of the global financial crisis on six different European countries--ranging from Germany, which continued its long-term but gradual downward trend in home sales and prices to Denmark and the Netherlands, which though affected, were able to weather the storm and did not need bank bailouts.
• Highlights the various aspects of the housing market and mortgage finance system in Russia, and describes the transformation of the Serbian housing market since the political situation stabilized at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
• Analyzes both large Asian economies--looking at India, Japan, and the two critical urban housing markets of Beijing and Shanghai as well as the financial system in the People's Republic of China--and smaller markets such as Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, and Hong Kong.
• Covers four countries spread across the globe--Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Israel--whose housing markets showed various levels of immunity to the consequences and contagion effects of the global financial crisis.

The widely varying experiences of both the housing and mortgage markets in the countries described throughout the papers in this volume are evidence of the complex interplay of economic conditions, institutional setting, regulatory framework, and policy responses in directing and reacting to the flow of a catastrophe. Engaging and informative, Global Housing Markets seeks to put recent events in perspective, while sharing some far-reaching lessons from this crisis and providing valuable insights on how we can effectively move forward in its aftermath.

About the Author

ASHOK BARDHAN is Senior Research Associate, Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

ROBERT H. EDELSTEIN is Professor, Maurice Mann Chair in Real Estate, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

CYNTHIA A. KROLL is Executive Director, Staff Research and Senior Regional Economist, Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.