Government-Sponsored Enterprises : Mercantilist Companies in the Modern World

by Stanton, Thomas H.

• ISBN13: 9780844741604
• ISBN10: 0844741604
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Natl Book Network

Summary

This book traces the origins of GSEs, contrasts investor-owned and cooperative GSEs, and examines such issues as activities and the quality of oversight.

Author Biography

Thomas H. Stanton is a Washington, D.C., attorney, the chairman of the Standing Panel on Executive Organization and Management of the National Academy of Public Administration, and a fellow of the Center for the Study of American Government, Johns Hopkins University

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Lester M. Salamon
Preface	xi
Mercantilist Institutions in the Marketplace	1	(12)
GSEs in the Marketplace	4	(5)
Origins of the GSEs	9	(2)
The GSE as a Mercantilist Institution	11	(2)
Instrumentalities of Government	13	(20)
Unusual Legal Attributes of Federal Instrumentalities	13	(7)
Public Purposes	20	(2)
Legal Attributes	22	(2)
Institutional Characteristics	24	(9)
Government Support of GSEs	33	(16)
Implicit Federal Backing of GSE Obligations and MBSs	33	(3)
Consequences for GSEs of the Implicit Government Guarantee	36	(4)
Managing the Government's Implicit Guarantee	40	(3)
The Institutional Structure for Overseeing Safety and Soundness	43	(3)
Special Problems of Implicit Government Backing	46	(3)
The Public Purposes of GSEs	49	(14)
Origins of the Legal Framework of GSEs	63	(15)
The Mercantilist Origins of Instrumentalities of Government	64	(1)
Legal Antecedents for Today's GSEs	65	(3)
Institutional Characteristics and Early U.S. Instrumentalities	68	(2)
The Political Strength of Mercantilist Companies	70	(5)
The Different Behavior of Instrumentalities	75	(3)
The Consequences of Organizational Form and Governance: A Case Study of the Housing GSEs	78	(14)
The Fiduciary Responsibilities of GSE Officers and Directors	79	(2)
The Tension between Public Purpose and Private Profits	81	(3)
The Federal Home Loan Bank System	84	(3)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac	87	(3)
Governance Structure and the Importance of Institutional Design	90	(2)
Changing Markets and Exit Strategies	92	(17)
The Difficulty of Designing an Effective Exit Strategy	94	(2)
A Case Study: Removing Government Sponsorship from Sallie Mae	96	(5)
Lessons in Designing Exit Strategy	101	(4)
Alternatives to Full Privatization	105	(1)
GSEs as Mercantilist Institutions in Modern Markets	106	(3)
Recommended Reading	109	(2)
Notes	111	(22)
Index	133	(6)
About the Author	139