According to conventional wisdom, homeowners take better care of their housing than do renters, as a result of the rental externality. We argue that two forms of homeowner externality ootentially create similar incentives for owners to undermaintain their housing. The first is due to the inability of prospective buyers to fully observe past seller maintenance, and the second is a result of the limited liability of borrowers in the event of mortgage default. Empirical analysis verifies the existence of the mortgage externality, but we find no evidence for the resale externality.
JEL classification:a b s t r a c t Cos ßgel, Metin M., Miceli, Thomas J., and Rubin, Jared-The political economy of mass printing: Legitimacy and technological change in the Ottoman Empire New technologies have not always been greeted with full enthusiasm. Although the Ottomans were quick to adopt advancements in military technology, they waited almost three centuries to sanction printing in Ottoman Turkish (in Arabic characters). Printing spread relatively rapidly throughout Europe following the invention of the printing press in 1450 despite resistance by interest groups and temporary restrictions in some countries. We explain differential reaction to technology through a political economy approach centered on the legitimizing relationships between rulers and their agents (e.g., military, religious, or secular authorities). The Ottomans regulated the printing press heavily to prevent the loss it would have caused to the ruler's net revenue by undermining the legitimacy provided by religious authorities. On the other hand, the legitimizing relationship between European religious and political authorities was undermined over a century prior to the invention of the press. European rulers thus had little reason to stop the spread of printing as public policy, nor could the Church have stopped it had it wanted to. The Ottomans eventually sanctioned printing in Arabic script in the 18th century after alternative sources of legitimacy emerged.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.