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Data Updates: Measuring Evictions during the COVID-19 Crisis

Since our July report, eviction policies related to COVID-19 continue to evolve. Our updates capture weekly eviction filing counts for 63 jurisdictions across the United States—that’s approximately 13 percent of renter households in the country. Read More  

Equality Is Not Enough: Reflections on the Paycheck Protection Program

Our society often designs and implements policies that prioritize equality, but prioritizing equity or justice would better address the disparities between racial groups. Read More  

The Fed’s Commercial Paper Funding Facility, explained

To support those banks, businesses, and municipalities that want to borrow money by issuing commercial paper, the Fed will purchase certain types of commercial paper from eligible issuers until March 17, 2021. Read More  

An Uphill Battle: COVID-19’s Outsized Toll on Minority-Owned Firms

Data suggest that minority-owned small businesses have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. This report considers various data sources and examines possible explanations for race-level differences in COVID-19’s impact on businesses. Read More  

Subprime May Not Have Caused the 2000s Housing Crisis: Evidence from Cleveland, Ohio

During the 2000s housing bust, Cleveland’s Slavic Village was dubbed “ground zero of the foreclosure crisis” by the national media. Despite this, during the preceding housing boom Cleveland had stable house price growth and relatively low mortgage debt growth, a stark contrast to circumstances in areas such as California that had exceptionally high house price and mortgage debt growth. What explains the relatively minor housing boom and perceived sharp downturn in Cleveland? In this Commentary I show that while subprime debt was a prominent source of debt in Cleveland and especially in its Slavic Village neighborhood during the 2000s, it is difficult to peg subprime debt as playing a causal role in the subsequent foreclosure crisis. Read More