Write a short essay on the United Nations Human Rights Council's 2017 report on the financialization of
housing (relevant links below). You may either agree or disagree with the report. Your grade should not
depend on which side you take, just on how well argued your case is. Try to consider principles from this
course about the functioning of financial markets, whose purposes they serve, and how they can solve
fundamental economic problems, or, perversely, worsen them.
Essay on the financialization of housing - http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?
NewsID=21264&LangID=E
Full report, plus additional languages available here -
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx
Review criteria You may either agree or disagree with the report. Your grade should not depend on which
side you take, just on how well argued your case is. Try to consider principles from this course about the
functioning of financial markets, whose purposes they serve, and how they can solve fundamental
economic problems, or, perversely, worsen them.
Sample Solution