This study examines mortgage market implications of the opioid public health crisis in the United States. Employing data on over 4 million mortgage loan application records, we find lenders are less likely to approve loans from areas with relatively higher levels of opioid abuse significantly impeding borrowers’ access to financial markets. Consistent with risk channeling, originated mortgage loans are more likely to have lower loan-to-income ratios in areas with higher rates of opioid abuse. Heterogeneity among lender firms also affects the extent to which lenders incorporate concerns about risks induced by the opioid crisis into loan underwriting, with traditional lenders located in the county where the purchased residential property is located being most likely to base loan approval decisions on the perceived severity of the local opioid epidemic. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s tightening controls of hydrocodone products serves as a quasi-natural experiment and supports a causal interpretation suggesting opioid abuse is an additional risk factor that is likely to affect mortgage lending decisions on the extensive margin.

本研究调查了美国阿片类药物公共卫生危机对抵押贷款市场的影响。利用超过 400 万份抵押贷款申请记录的数据，我们发现贷款人不太可能批准来自阿片类药物滥用程度相对较高的地区的贷款，这严重阻碍了借款人进入金融市场。与风险引导一致，在阿片类药物滥用率较高的地区，原始抵押贷款更有可能具有较低的贷款收入比。贷方公司之间的异质性也会影响贷方将对阿片类药物危机引起的风险的担忧纳入贷款承销的程度，位于购买的住宅物业所在县的传统贷方最有可能根据当地阿片类药物流行病的严重程度做出贷款批准决定。美国缉毒局加强对氢可酮产品的控制是一项准自然实验，并支持一种因果解释，即阿片类药物滥用是一个可能影响广泛边际抵押贷款决策的额外风险因素。