Research
Biography
Paul S. Willen is a senior economist and policy advisor in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department. Willen conducts academic research with a focus on real estate and mortgage markets to support of the policy mission of the Federal Reserve. His duties include everything from advising policymakers to testifying in Congress to educating the public about the workings of the mortgage market to publishing articles in top scholarly journals. For many years, Willen studied the causes and consequences of the 2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis. His research on the crisis was featured in virtually every major newspaper in the country. More recently, Willen has analyzed the effects of race and ethnicity on access to mortgage credit. Willen did his undergraduate work at Williams College, earned his PhD from Yale, and has taught at Princeton, the University of Chicago, MIT, and Harvard.
Work Experience
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Senior Economist and Policy Advisor, 2007–
Senior Economist, 2004–2006
Harvard University
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Economics, 2014–
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Visiting Associate Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, 2006–2014
National Bureau of Economic Research
Faculty Research Fellow, 2004–
University of Chicago
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business, 2000–2004
Princeton University
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, 1997–2000
Education
PhD, Economics, Yale University, 1997
MPhil, Economics, Yale University, 1995
MA, Economics, Yale University, 1994
BA, Economics, Williams College, 1990
Primary fields of research
Macroeconomics, finance
Publications
Refereed Journal Articles
“Cross-Sectional Patterns of Mortgage Debt during the Housing Boom: Evidence and Implications,” with Christopher L. Foote and Lara Loewenstein. 2021. The Review of Economic Studies 88(1): 229–259. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdaa034
“Can’t Pay or Won’t Pay? Unemployment, Negative Equity, and Strategic Default,” with Kristopher Gerardi, Kyle F. Herkenhoff, and Lee E. Ohanian. 2018. The Review of Financial Studies 31(3): 1098–1131. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhx115
“Mortgage-Default Research and the Recent Foreclosure Crisis,” with Christopher L. Foote. 2018. Annual Review of Financial Economics 10: 59–100.
"Mandated Risk Retention in Securitization: An Economist's View." 2014. American Economic Review 104(5): 82–87.
"Evaluating Policies to Prevent Another Crisis: An Economist's View." 2014. Cato Papers on Public Policy 3(2013–2014): 185–235.
"Identifying the Effect of Securitization on Foreclosure and Modification Rates Using Early-Payment Defaults," with Manuel Adelino and Kris Gerardi. 2014. Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 49(3): 352–378.
"Occupation-Level Income Shocks and Asset Returns: Their Covariance and Implications for Portfolio Choice," with Steven J. Davis. 2013. Quarterly Journal of Finance 3(03n04).
"Why Don't Lenders Renegotiate More Home Mortgages? Redefaults, Self-Cures and Securitizations," With Manuel Adelino and Kris Gerardi. 2013. Journal of Monetary Economics 60(7): 835–853.
"Do Borrower Rights Improve Borrower Outcomes? Evidence from the Foreclosure Process," with Kris Gerardi and Lauren Lambie-Hanson. 2013. Journal of Urban Economics 73(1): 1–17.
"How Effective Were the Federal Reserve Emergency Liquidity Facilities? Evidence from the Asset Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility," with Burcu Duygan-Bump, Patrick Parkinson, Eric Rosengren, and Gustavo A. Suarez. 2013. Journal of Finance 68(2): 715–737.
"Insuring Consumption Using Income-Linked Assets," with Andreas Fuster. 2011. Review of Finance 15(4): 835–873.
"The Impact of Deregulation and Financial Innovation on Consumers: The Case of the Mortgage Market," with Kristopher S. Gerardi and Harvey Rosen. 2010. Journal of Finance 65(1): 333–360.
"Reducing Foreclosures: No Easy Answers," with Christopher Foote, Kristopher S. Gerardi, and Lorenz Goette. 2009. NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2009 24: 89–138.
"Subprime Mortgages, Foreclosures, and Urban Neighborhoods," with Kristopher S. Gerardi. 2009. Berkeley Electronic Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 9(3): 1–37.
"Making Sense of the Subprime Crisis," with Kristopher S. Gerardi, Andreas Lehnert, and Shane Sherlund. 2008. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 39(2): 69–145.
"Just the Facts: An Initial Analysis of the Subprime Crisis," with Christopher Foote, Kristopher S. Gerardi and Lorenz Goette. 2008. Journal of Housing Economics 17(4): 291–305.
"Negative Equity and Foreclosure: Theory and Evidence," with Christopher Foote and Kristopher S. Gerardi. 2008. Journal of Urban Economics 64(2): 234–245.
"Social Security and Unsecured Debt," with Erik Hurst. 2007. Journal of Public Economics 91(7-8): 1273–1297.
"Borrowing Costs and the Demand for Equity over the Life Cycle," with Steven J. Davis and Felix Kubler. 2006. The Review of Economics and Statistics 88(2): 348–362. A previous version of this paper appeared as Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 05-7.
"Educational Opportunity and Income Inequality," with Igal Hendel and Joel Shapiro. 2005. Journal of Public Economics 89(5-6): 841–870. A previous version of this paper appeared as Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 04-5.
Working papers and other unpublished papers
“House Prices and Rents in the 21st Century,” with Lara Loewenstein. 2023. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 23-2. https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2023.02
“Lessons Learned from Mortgage Borrower Policies and Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” with Kristopher Gerardi and Lauren Lambie-Hanson. 2022. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Current Policy Perspectives. July 7, 2022.
“Racial Differences in Mortgage Refinancing, Distress, and Housing Wealth Accumulation during COVID-19,” with Kristopher Gerardi and Lauren Lambie-Hanson. 2021. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Current Policy Perspectives. June 22, 2021.
“How Resilient Is Mortgage Credit Supply? Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic,” with Andreas Fuster, Aurel Hizmo, Lauren Lambie-Hanson, and James Vickery. 2021. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 21-4. https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2021.04
“Do Lenders Still Discriminate? A Robust Approach for Assessing Differences in Menus,” with David Hao Zhang. 2020. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 20-19. https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2020.19
“Evaluating the Benefits of a Streamlined Refinance Program,” with Kristopher Gerardi and Lara Loewenstein. 2020. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Current Policy Perspectives. December 28, 2020.
“Mortgage Prepayment, Race, and Monetary Policy,” with Kristopher Gerardi and David Hao Zhang. 2020. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 20-7. https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2020.07
"Technological Innovation in Mortgage Underwriting and the Growth in Credit, 1985–2015," with Christopher L. Foote, and Lara Loewenstein. 2019. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 19–11.
"Mortgage-Default Research and the Recent Foreclosure Crisis," with Christopher Foote. 2017. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 17-13.
"The Time-Varying Price of Financial Intermediation in the Mortgage Market," with Andreas Fuster and Stephanie Lo. 2016. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No.16-28.
“Cross Sectional Patterns of Mortgage Debt during the Housing Boom: Evidence and Implications,” with Christopher L. Foote and Lara Loewenstein. 2016. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 16-12. Revised in 2020.
"Can't Pay or Won't Pay? Unemployment, Negative Equity, and Strategic Default," with Kristopher Gerardi, Kyle F. Herkenhoff, and Lee E. Ohanian. 2015. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 15-13.
"The Failure of Supervisory Stress Testing: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and OFHEO," with W. Scott Frame and Kristopher Gerardi. 2015. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 15-4.
"Tight Credit Conditions Continue to Constrain the Housing Recovery," with Jordan Rappaport. 2014. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Current Policy Perspectives No. 14-1.
"Occupation-Level Income Shocks and Asset Returns: Their Covariance and Implications for Portfolio Choice," with Steven J. Davis. 2013. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 13-9.
"The Role of Proximity in Foreclosure Externalities: Evidence from Condominiums," with Lynn M. Fisher and Lauren Lambie-Hanson. 2013. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 13-2.
"Payment Size, Negative Equity, and Mortgage Default," with Andreas Fuster. 2012. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 12-10.
"Foreclosure Externalities: Some New Evidence," with Kristopher S. Gerardi, Eric Rosenblatt, and Vincent W. Yao. 2012. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 12-5.
"Why Did So Many People Make So Many Ex Post Bad Decisions? The Causes of the Foreclosure Crisis," with Christopher L. Foote and Kristopher S. Gerardi. 2012. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 12-2.
"Do Borrower Rights Improve Borrower Outcomes? Evidence from the Foreclosure Process," with Kristopher Gerardi and Lauren Lambie-Hanson. 2011. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 11-9.
"A Profile of the Mortgage Crisis in a Low-and-Moderate-Income Community," with Lynn Fisher and Lauren Lambie-Hanson. 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 10-6.
"Reasonable People Did Disagree: Optimism and Pessimism about the U.S. Housing Market Before the Crash," with Kristopher S. Gerardi and Christopher L. Foote. 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 10-5.
"$1.25 Trillion Is Still Real Money: Some Facts about the Effects of the Federal Reserve's Mortgage Market Investments," with Andreas Fuster. 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 10-4.
"How Effective Were the Federal Reserve Emergency Liquidity Facilities? Evidence from the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility," with Burcu Duygan-Bump, Patrick M. Parkinson, Eric S. Rosengren, and Gustavo A. Suarez. 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Risk and Policy Analysis QUA 10-3.
"What Explains Differences in Foreclosure Rates? A Response to Piskorski, Seru, and Vig," with Manuel Adelino and Kristopher Gerardi. 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 10-2.
"Insuring Consumption Using Income-Linked Assets," with Andreas Fuster. 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 10-1.
"A Proposal to Help Distressed Homeowners: A Government Payment-Sharing Plan," with Chris Foote, Jeff Fuhrer, and Eileen Mauskopf. 2009. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Briefs No. 09-1.
"Why Don't Lenders Renegotiate More Home Mortgages? Redefaults, Self-Cures, and Securitization," with Manuel Adelino and Kristopher S. Gerardi. 2009. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 09-4.
"Reducing Foreclosures," with Christopher Foote, Kristopher S. Gerardi, and Lorenz Goette. 2009. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 09-2.
"Making Sense of the Subprime Crisis," with Kristopher S. Gerardi, Andreas Lehnert, and Shane M. Sherland. 2009. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 09-1.
"Subprime Outcomes: Risky Mortgages, Homeownership Experiences, and Foreclosures," with Kristopher S. Gerardi and Adam Hale Shapiro. 2007. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 07-15.
"The Theory of Life-Cycle Saving and Investing," with Zvi Bodie and Jonathan Treussard. 2007. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 07-3.
"Collateralized Borrowing and Life-Cycle Portfolio Choice," with Felix Kubler. 2006. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Public Policy Discussion Papers No. 06-4.
"Incomplete Markets and Trade." 2004. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 04-8.