"This book provides an accessible, yet formal framework to understand how housing bubbles arise, their international dimension, their consequences, and ways to prevent them."

Òscar Jordà, University of California, Davis, USA

"Basco's analysis blends, in a very rigorous but enjoyable manner , state-of-the-art theory and historical examples, adding also a very timely and valuable set of policy orientations."

Óscar Arce, Director General, Banco de España, Madrid, Spain

Booms and busts of house prices are a recurrent feature throughout history. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the origins and economic consequences of these housing bubbles. The book starts with a formal definition of asset price bubbles and a summary of the most famous episodes, before describing how economists have thought about asset price bubbles; specifically behavioral vs. rational interpretations. These theories are applied to the special case ofhousing and the same framework is used to explain the implications of financial globalization for capital flows and housing bubbles. After analyzing its origins, the economic consequences of housing bubbles for both households and firms are derived and documented. The final sections are devoted to discussing the effects of financial crises and explain how financial regulation could mitigate the emergence of future housing bubbles. Case studies of the recent housing bubbles in the United States and Spain are also featured in the book.

This book will be of value to advanced undergraduate macroeconomic courses, as well as researchers in international economics and macroeconomics and policy makers.

Autorentext

Sergi Basco received his Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. He is Visiting Professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, and Research Fellow in Fundació MOVE, Spain. He writes about globalization, financial development and asset price bubbles.

Inhalt

1. Introduction

2. A Brief History Of Bubbles

-Definition Of Bubbles

-A Review Of Famous Bubbles

-Housing Bubble Indicator

3. Origin Of Asset Price Bubbles

-Behavioral Explanation

-Theory Of Rational Bubbles

-A Model Of Rational Housing Bubbles

4. Globalization And Housing Bubbles

-A First Look At The Data

-Model Of Globalization And Housing Bubbles

-An Application: The U.S. Housing Bubble

5. Consequences Of Housing Bubbles

-OopsThe Housing Bubble Burst

-An Application: Misallocation In Spain

6. Regulating Housing Bubbles

-What Have Learnt Of Past Episodes?

-Macroprudential Regulation