A model of the term structure of lease rates in a frictionless economy is developed and its predictions are compared with data on residential leases in Japan. The model shows that the initial lease rate for a cancellable lease must be set higher than that for a non-cancellable lease because the...

We use Japanese prefectural-level data to analyze the relationship between borrowing patterns and house price dynamics under the recourse-loan system. Our principal finding is that in prefectures where highly leveraged homeowners are common– i.e. have high, extended loan-to-value ratios- house...