First Mortgages,Second Mortgages,and Their Default

Using 35,437 pairs of first and second mortgages matched from within a much larger set of subprime mortgages, this paper tracks and describes the tendency for either one of the mortgages to enter default, as well as the tendency for either the one or the other mortgage to ever return to being current, all this in a possibly repeated manner. Thus, the entire, interconnected default history of pairs of first and second mortgages is explored, as well as compared to theoretical predictions.     

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Activities and Corporate Governance in Imperfectly Competitive Markets

We investigate the incentives of firms' owners to commit voluntarily to corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in an oligopolistic market. The socially responsible attributes attached to products are considered as credence goods, with consumers forming expectations about their existence and level. We show that hiring an ‘individually’ socially responsible CEO and delegating to him the CSR effort and market decisions acts as a commitment device for the firm's owners and credibly signals to consumers that the firm will undertake the ‘missioned’ CSR activities. We also find that CSR activities are welfare enhancing for consumers and firms and thus, they should be encouraged. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.