VIDEO
Barry P. Bosworth, February 09, 2012
For decades, the low rate of saving has had surprisingly benign effects on both American consumers and the U.S. government, but that all may be in the process of changing, and quickly, according to Barry Bosworth.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, January 18, 2012, House Financial Services Committee
The Volcker Rule is fundamentally flawed and will do considerably more harm than good for the economy, said Douglas Elliott in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. According to Elliott, the Volcker Rule focuses on eliminating excessive investment risk at core financial institutions without measuring either the level of this risk or the capacity of the institutions to handle it. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Daniel Kaufmann and Veronika Penciakova, December 02, 2011, The Brookings Institution
Daniel Kaufmann and Veronika Penciakova examine Federal Judge Jed Rakoff's rejection of the settlement between the Security Exchange Commission and Citigroup, arguing that Rakoff’s challenge of the SEC exposes how old power balances that favor financial institutions remain alive and well. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Washington, DC
The European Central Bank (ECB) will play a vital role in determining the outcome of the Eurozone crisis and more generally, whether Europe slips into a new recession. On November 2, the Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) and Economic Studies at Brookings hosted a discussion on the European Central Bank’s role under the new leadership of Mario Draghi. Speakers included Georges Pineau, the ECB’s permanent representative in Washington; Brookings Senior Fellow Donald Kohn, a former vice chair of the Federal Reserve; Joerg Stephan, the head of the New York representative office of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany's central bank; and Brookings Fellow Douglas Elliott. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Eswar Prasad, Barry Eichengreen and Raghuram Rajan, October 24, 2011, FT.com
In the wake of the global financial crisis, Eswar Prasad, Barry Eichengreen and Raghuram Rajan say that it is time to update the central banks' mandates and operations. They argue that central banks should make financial and price stability an objective and employ tactics to evaluate the effects of the economic changes. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, September 28, 2011, The New York Times (Room for Debate blog)
Douglas Elliott addresses whether the Basel III regulatory standards for banks will create a competitive advantage for European banks, undermining American banks. Although operational differences between banks could create such a gap, Elliott notes that U.S. interests guided much of the standards' creation, with negotiators winning many concessions from the Europeans. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Eswar Prasad, Barry Eichengreen and Raghuram Rajan, September 20, 2011, Voxeu.org
While central banks have broadened their work in recent years, the standard analytic framework—‘flexible inflation targeting’—has not changed. Eswar Prasad, Barry Eichengreen, and Raghuram Rajan argue there needs to be an alternative framework to central banking that involves an explicit financial stability mandate and international coordination among central banks.
Read MoreRESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
September 2011, The Committee on International Economic and Policy Reform
In this report, the Committee on International Economic and Policy Reform lays out a framework for rethinking central banking in light of lessons learned in the lead-up to and aftermath of the global financial crisis. They offer their recommendations on achieving financial stability and implementing effective monetary policy.
Read MoreBOOK
Roberto G. Quercia, Allison Freeman and Janneke Ratcliffe, August 16, 2011
In Regaining the Dream, a trio of researchers from the University of North Carolina's Center for Community Capital argue that there is a way to strengthen the financial system while simultaneously promoting an equitable, sustainable American home ownership policy. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Domenico Lombardi, July 27, 2011, Financial Times
Although the recent bailout agreement allows the European Central Bank (ECB) to continue to refinance the Greek banking system, Domenico Lombardi argues that the pressure on the ECB to be the lender of last resort conflicts with its mandate to fight inflation, and therefore a centralized fiscal authority is needed to fill that role. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Eduardo Levy-Yeyati, Sergio Schmukler and María Soledad Martínez Pería, July 12, 2011, VoxEU.org
The Greek crisis debate has centered on the implications of a sovereign default and the possibility of a new currency to pull the country's economy out of the recession. Eduardo Levy-Yeyati, Sergio Schmukler and María Soledad Martínez Pería examine how the banking sector, which has been less of a focal point in the debate, may cause an unplanned resolution. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William J. Antholis, June 29, 2011, CNN
Writing from Athens, William Antholis delves into the hard economic choice the Greek public faces: austerity measures in exchange for another round of bailouts or exit the EU entirely. Both choices come with their own set of tough consequences, argues Antholis. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin Neil Baily, June 27, 2011, The Brookings Institution
Although there seems to be consensus that the Dodd-Frank Act could help prevent another severe crisis in financial markets, Martin Baily puts the focus on Dodd-Frank's shortcomings by noting specific issues such as the possibility of moral hazard, slow response time in cases of emergency and vague mechanisms surrounding the resolution of failing institutions. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Michael Barr, June 27, 2011, Brookings Institution
Michael Barr, a key architect of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, compares and contrasts how financial institutions and financial markets are now set to be regulated a year after the act passed. Barr also looks forward to see how the Dodd-Frank Act will influence global financial regulation, such as the Basel III banking guidelines. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott and Robert E. Litan, January 16, 2011, Brookings
Douglas Elliot and Robert Litan discuss how financial reform legislation under the Dodd-Frank Act requires regulators to designate large "systemically important financial institutions" (SIFIs). The authors pay particular attention to the risks of including too many or too few institutions as SIFIs, as well as the related risks of over- or under-regulation. Read More