Community Reinvestment Act and Efficient Markets Debate: Overview (Economics ARTICLES‪)‬

ABSTRACT This paper integrates two existing lines of research. On the one hand, there is the literature on the community reinvestment act (CRA), and on the other there is the literature on the efficient markets hypothesis (EMH). The paper first provides an overview of each line of research, and then discusses how they might be related. A major portion of the paper is devoted to the introduction of the CRA, its relation to the relevant laws, its development over time. The paper reviews the phases of the CRA and the major factors which have contributed to its wide-ranging effects. Since the EMH is a relatively well-known topic, the paper briefly re-introduces the issues involved. Finally, the paper discusses what the implications of the CRA might be for the EMH.