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SUMMARY:Who gets what\, where\, in the tangled world of housing finance: t
 he vexed question of price - Professor Susan Smith (Girton College\, Unive
 rsity of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20100513T113000Z
DTEND:20100513T130000Z
UID:TALK25358@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Geography/SPRI Webmaster
DESCRIPTION:The uneven\, and increasingly unstable integration of housing\
 , mortgage and financial markets tied households' budgets to global financ
 ial flows to an unprecedented extent. This volatile mix\, in turn\, sparke
 d the origins\, and shaped the consequences\, of unimaginable economic dis
 array. Accounting for this is nevertheless hampered by an 'elephant in the
  room' in the shape of home price dynamics. Few concepts so critical to th
 e workings of the housing economy - so implicated in the accumulation and 
 disintegration of global and local financial fortunes - are so widely aire
 d\, so assiduously analysed\, and so little understood. In this presentati
 on I argue that\, notwithstanding significant achievements\, economics has
  struggled to account for the history\, geography and trajectory of home p
 rices using tried and tested tools. At the same time\, other disciplines\,
  ostensibly well-placed to contribute\, have tended to stand back. As the 
 analytical task becomes more urgent\, this paper assesses the scope for ra
 pprochement. Can cross-disciplinary alliances - the kind that geography so
  often helps anchor - establish whether housing markets are driven by hidd
 en hands\, animal spirits or some other financial intelligence? And what d
 oes this have to do with creating more sustainable financial futures?
LOCATION:Seminar Room\, Department of Geography\, Downing Site
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