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Showing 9 of 200 Publications in Financial Regulation
TOTM Today’s New York Times features an op-ed by Michigan Law Professor Michael Barr and former Clinton advisor Gene Sperling that (somewhat predictably) blames our current . . .
Today’s New York Times features an op-ed by Michigan Law Professor Michael Barr and former Clinton advisor Gene Sperling that (somewhat predictably) blames our current financial mess on a lack of “common sense regulation” and exonerates the Community Reinvestment Act, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.
Read the full piece here.
TOTM Many observers have been shocked by the level of government involvement in the U.S. economy in recent days. Among other things, the government has (1) . . .
Many observers have been shocked by the level of government involvement in the U.S. economy in recent days. Among other things, the government has (1) bailed out an insurance company that got “too big to fail,” (2) decided to spend up to $700 billion buying the distressed assets of financial firms (and apparently directly investing in those firms), and (3) banned investors from short-selling the securities of a number of firms. Seems like a pretty massive governmental response, no?
TOTM Last week I posted about Lucian Bebchuk’s thoughtful bailout plan, which would have expanded Treasury’s powers to include the ability to make direct investments in . . .
Last week I posted about Lucian Bebchuk’s thoughtful bailout plan, which would have expanded Treasury’s powers to include the ability to make direct investments in ailing financial firms (as opposed to just buying their distressed assets). I was under the impression the bailout legislation didn’t provide Treasury with such authority. An article in today’s WSJ, though, suggests otherwise.
TOTM I’ve avoided saying anything at all about the bailout because (1) I’m not an expert on banking, finance, etc. and (2) events are moving so . . .
I’ve avoided saying anything at all about the bailout because (1) I’m not an expert on banking, finance, etc. and (2) events are moving so fast I can’t keep up with the latest proposal. Nonetheless, since the bailout bill has just failed, this might be an opportune time to consider an alternative to the plan the House just rejected. The most intriguing alternative plan I’ve seen is that set forth by Havard Law’s Lucian Bebchuk in this paper (which was produced in record time!).
Popular Media Over and over during the last week we’ve been told that unless Congress, the Treasury, and the Fed take “bold action,” credit markets will freeze, . . .
Over and over during the last week we’ve been told that unless Congress, the Treasury, and the Fed take “bold action,” credit markets will freeze, equity values will plummet, small businesses and homeowners will be wiped out, and, ultimately, the entire economy will crash. Such pronouncements are issued boldly, with a sort of Gnostic certainty, a little sadness for dramatic effect, and only minor caveats and qualifications.
TOTM Sunstein and Thaler have a series of posts over at Volokh Consipiracy on their new book Nudge, which expands on their notion of libertarian paternalism . . .
Sunstein and Thaler have a series of posts over at Volokh Consipiracy on their new book Nudge, which expands on their notion of libertarian paternalism (see here, here , here and here). Something in the most recent post caught my eye. In preparing to respond to various objections to libertarian paternalism, Sunstein argues that this sort of paternalism offers the “best of both worlds”…
TOTM I started writing this as a comment to Josh’s last post, but it got so long I figured I’d make a post out of it. . . .
I started writing this as a comment to Josh’s last post, but it got so long I figured I’d make a post out of it. Thanks for the inspiration, Josh.
I really hope Radiohead releases the data on its little experiment! My prediction: They will receive an average price of $2 and a median price of $0.
TOTM After receiving the page proofs last week, I’m posting “Behavioral Law and Economics, Paternalism, and Consumer Contracts: An Empirical Perspective” to SSRN. I wrote this . . .
After receiving the page proofs last week, I’m posting “Behavioral Law and Economics, Paternalism, and Consumer Contracts: An Empirical Perspective” to SSRN. I wrote this paper for last year’s NYU Journal of Law & Liberty Symposium on Behavioral Economics™ Challenge to the Classical Liberal Program. The basic idea of the paper is an evaluation of the empirical evidence concerning behavioral and neoclassical theoretical predictions in a few settings where behavioral anomalies are frequently argued to justify paternalistic measures: credit cards, standard form contracts, and shelf space contracts.
TOTM WSJ has a fascinating story this morning about a group of restaurants in Utah, Washington, Colorado and other places adopting a completely voluntary pricing system. . . .
WSJ has a fascinating story this morning about a group of restaurants in Utah, Washington, Colorado and other places adopting a completely voluntary pricing system. No registers. No prices. No “suggested” prices and no tips. The business model is essentially to provide food and allow customers to put whatever they want in a lock box at the front of the store. This is similar to the former economist turned Bagel Man in Freakonomics who delivered bagels to DC area offices on a quasi-honor system.
