House price modeling has been frequently used to investigate the dynamics of housing markets, especially competitive markets; yet less attention has been given to markets that have experienced considerable interventions. The aim of this study is to demonstrate a mismatch between conventional house price models and the case of the Netherlands and to provide reasons of such mismatch. We first des...

We quantify the importance of endogenous peer effects in group lending programs by estimating a static game of incomplete information. Endogenous peer effects describe how one’s behavior is affected by the behavior of her peers. Using a rich dataset from a group lending program in India, our empirical analysis presents a robust finding of large peer effects. The preferred model suggests that th...

Microfinance through joint liability or group lending has received a lot of attention recently from policy makers as well as academicians. It is playing important role in delivering financial services to the ‘socially and economically excluded’ poor, in general, and women, in particular. Grouplending works with various dynamic incentives. One such is the principle of progressive lending which p...

Microlending is growing in Eastern Europe, Russia and China as a flexible means to widen access to financial services, both to help alleviate poverty and to encourage private-sector activity. We describe mechanisms that allow these programs to successfully penetrate new segments of credit markets. These features include direct monitoring, regular repayment schedules, and the use of non-refinanc...

This study investigates why portfolio returns of online banking users are higher than those non-online users. We first demonstrate that households eager to improve their level financial literacy more likely use banking. Second, a marginal increase in risk appetite increases users; however, this is not the case for Third, promotes debt repayment, and further encourages tolerant investments. In s...

BACKGROUND Assessing the quality of postsecondary education remains a difficult task, despite many efforts to do so. No consensus or standard definition of educational quality has yet been agreed upon or developed. PURPOSE This study evaluated the quality of massage education in the United States using three closely-related questions to frame the evaluation: 1) Is accreditation improving the ...