A comprehensive issue-by-issue and country-by-country study of housing markets and housing finance markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

The analysis of the mortgage market is a specialised field but examines a financial market with extremely wide-ranging implications; it affects the stability of the whole economy. The key thing about this analysis is the increasing importance of the secondary mortgage market – which in the US is now several times larger than the market for government debt. The UK secondary mortgage market is also growing and the book will provide a timely resource to those active and interested in this important financial market. The 1990s saw an enormous growth of mortgage market analysis as an academic subject and there is a vast literature scattered among the key real estate journals. There is now a great need to not only bring this very complex subject area together, but also to abstract the main issues and to render them intelligible. The book will provide an organised research resource and also inform and motivate further research into the microeconomics of mortgage markets.

The book provides a theoretical and empirical evaluation ofdifferent housing finance systems, presenting a collection ofstudies that describe various aspects of selected mortgage marketsaround the world. The uniqueness of the chosen markets lies in thefact that they represent not only different regions around theglobe (Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe), but alsounderstudied markets in different stages of economic and financialdevelopment. This book examines questions relating to housingfinance efficiency and contract heterogeneity. In addition, itanalyses the securitization experiences in these countries toprovide lessons on how mortgage markets are integrated with capitalmarkets and how particular institutional framework interacts withmortgage markets. Short reviews are provided for each of the selected mortgagemarkets. The review will include institutional aspects of themarkets such as: the size and structure of the market (includingflows and accumulation of funds); a description of the competitionand a presentation of the major competitors (including marketshare, major financial measures, etc.); profitability in themarket, trends, structural changes, the major mortgage instrumentsand their market share, special tax issues, the role of thegovernment in the market, defaults, prepayments, mortgageinsurance, and major regulatory issues. The analysis explores the major existing problems in the mortgagemarket of each country, the current steps adopted to solve theseproblems, possible propositions for dealing with the major issuesin the future, and the implied future developments anticipated inthe market.

Financial crises have become an all too common occurrence over the past twenty years, largely as a result of changes in finance brought about by increasing internationalization and integration. As domestic financial systems and economies have become more interlinked, weaknesses can significantly impact not only individual economies but also markets, financial intermediaries, and economies around the world. This volume addresses the twin objectives of financial development in the context of financial stability and the role of law in supporting both. Financial stability (frequently seen as the avoidance of financial crisis) has become an objective of both the international financial architecture and individual economies and central banks. At the same time, financial development is now seen to play an important role in economic growth. In both financial stability and financial development, law and related institutions have a central role.

This book is a much-needed account, with numerous detailed examples, of the role of housing in economic growth and development by an author in a unique position to understand its importance and the practical measures for delivering that growth. While the linkages between housing and the macroeconomic environment in developed countries has been studied, the case of developing and transitional countries has been mostly overlooked. The author establishes these linkages with great clarity, supported by detailed case studies chosen to reflect regional diversity as well as differences in socio-economic development and political systems. On the basis of this analysis, the author goes on to develop specific policies and practices to enable governments to enhance the contribution of housing in economic growth.

Why is productivity higher in cities? Does urbanization cause growth or does growth cause urbanization? Do countries achieve rapid growth or high incomes without urbanization? How can policy makers reap the benefits of urbanization without paying too high a cost? Does supporting urbanization imply neglecting rural areas? Why do so few governments welcome urbanization? What should governments do to improve housing conditions in cities as they urbanize? Are innovations in housing finance a blessing or a curse for developing countries? How will governments finance the trillions of dollars of infrastructure spending needed for cities in developing countries? First in a series of thematic volumes, this book was prepared for the Commission on Growth and Development to evaluate the state of knowledge of the relationship between urbanization and economic growth. It does not pretend to provide all the answers, but it does identify insights and policy levers to help countries make urbanization work as part of a national growth strategy. It examines a variety of topics: the relevance and policy implications of recent advances in urban economics for developing countries, the role of economic geography in global economic trends and trade patterns, the impacts of urbanization on spatial inequality within countries, and alternative approaches to financing the substantial infrastructure investments required in developing-country cities. Written by prominent academics in their fields, Urbanization and Growth seeks to create a better understanding of the role of urbanization in growth and to inform policy makers tackling the formidable challenges it poses.