The Supreme Court's recent decision in Kelo v. New London allows the use of eminent domain to facilitate private economic development. While the court's condition for allowing takings was highly expansive, there may be a market failure that warrants state intervention when parcels of land need...

We examine the relationship between housing equity and wage earnings. We first provide a simple model of wage bargaining where failure leads to both job loss and mortgage default. Moreover, foreclosure generates disutility beyond selling a home. We test this prediction using nine waves of the...