Location‐Efficient Mortgages: Is the Rationale Sound?

Location efficient mortgage (LEM) programs are an increasingly popular approach to combating urban sprawl. LEMs allow families who want to live in densely populated, transit‐rich communities to obtain a larger mortgage with a smaller down payment than traditional underwriting guidelines allow. LEMs are premised on the proposition that homeowners in such “location‐efficient” areas can safely be allowed to breach underwriting guidelines designed to prevent mortgage default because they have lower than average automobile‐related transportation expenses and more income available for mortgage payments. This paper employs records of more than 8000 FHA‐insured mortgages matched with data on various measures of location efficiency to test this proposition. The results suggest that it does not hold and that LEMs—like other low‐down‐payment mortgage programs—will raise mortgage default rates. This cost must be weighed against any potential anti‐sprawl benefits LEMs may have. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Exact solutions to Bayesian and maximum likelihood problems in facial identification when population and error distributions are known

The reliability of traditional photogrammetric identification techniques using a small number of facial landmarks has recently come in for criticism. However, the transformation of parameters into a new face space in which the error distributions are orthogonal, yields a maximum likelihood solution to the problem of identifying a photographed face from a small, known, population which, in a simulated example, raises the success rate from 20% to 93%. A full transformation yielding simultaneously independent population and error distributions can be derived from raw population and error data using a straightforward computer procedure. Such a transformation facilitates computations for the situation where a single suspect is held in custody and the likelihood ratio of his being identical with a photograph is desired. It seems premature to condemn photogrammetry until the more efficient data-analysis approach outlined in this paper has been applied and tested.     

The Influence of “Changing Directions” on the Self-Esteem of a Delinquent Population in a Correctional Setting

There is increasing evidence that low self-esteem is a possible basis for risk-taking behaviors such as substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, and juvenile delinquency. Thus, it has been hypothesized that by enhancing an adolescent?s self-image, a decrease in the incidence of such behaviors can be realized. The present study examines the effect of one secure juvenile facility's treatment program on adolescent self-esteem. The findings reflect the program's effectiveness with regard to self-esteem elevation. A follow-up study, to determine whether this heightened self-esteem is maintained and/or results in decreased delinquency is forthcoming.