The house price in Hong Kong is well-known to be "unaffordable." This paper argues that the commonly used house price-to-income ratio may be misleading in an economy with almost half of the population living in either public rental housing or subsidized ownership. Moreover, we re-focus on the...

This paper argues that the persistence of greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) comesfrom information frictions. First, our simple social learning model shows that, through signaling effects, information frictions generate persistent greenfield FDI inflows. Second, we show empirically that...

This paper argues that the persistence of greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) comes from information frictions. First, our simple social learning model shows that, through signaling effects, information frictions generate persistent greenfield FDI inflows. Second, we show empirically that...

The house price-to-income ratio (PIR) is widely used as an affordability indicator. This paper complements the cross-sectionally focused literature by proposing a tractable model for the PIR dynamics. Our model predicts that the PIR is very persistent and is correlated to the lagged aggregate...

Situated atop condominium buildings, 'top floor units' (TFU) offer unparalleled views and privacy, courtesy of accessible roofs. This paper empirically examines this status symbol and finds that: (1) TFUs interact with the macroeconomy differently from ordinary units, (2) when considering the...

The house price-to-income ratio (PIR) is widely used as an affordability indicator. This paper complements the cross-sectionally focused literature by proposing a tractable model for the PIR dynamics. Our model predicts that the PIR is very persistent and is correlated to the lagged aggregate...