Prof. Steve Ross‘s essay with Jason Fletcher on “Minority mortgage market experiences leading up to and during the financial crisis” was published on Friday (Aug 22) in Vox: Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists.  In this essay, Professor Ross describes his research on the incidence of high cost loans, delinquency and foreclosure among minority borrowers.  He finds large racial differences in all dimensions, but much of the racial differences in the incidence of high cost loans is explained by the identity of the lender and concentrated among lower education, potentially less financially sophisticated borrowers.  On the other hand, racial differences in delinquency and foreclosure are concentrated primarily among borrowers who are faced with higher unemployment risk, rather than traditional factors related to subprime lending.

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