RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott and Martin Neil Baily, November 23, 2009, The Brookings Institution
What really caused the great economic crisis of the past year? Should the Fed’s powers be stripped away, per legislation sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul that recently passed the House Financial Services Committee? In an effort to help inform the debate, Brookings Fellow Douglas Elliott and Senior Fellow Martin Baily ponder the importance of public perceptions of the causes of the crisis - and how they will affect chances of financial regulatory reform. Read More
VIDEO
Douglas J. Elliott, November 12, 2009
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) has introduced legislation to reform the financial sector in the wake of the recent economic crisis. Senator Dodd’s proposal calls for consolidating the four federal financial regulatory agencies into a single regulator. Fellow Douglas Elliott says regulation consolidation is definitely in order.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, November 10, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is introducing legislation to consolidate banking regulation into one federal agency. Doug Elliott says having one regulator for “safety and soundness” and another focused on consumer protection is promising, should help avoid regulatory arbitrage and could hopefully prevent another financial crisis. Read More
VIDEO
Alice M. Rivlin, October 28, 2009
This month marks 80 years since the Wall Street crash of 1929 that was one cause of the Great Depression. Alice Rivlin says the 1929 crash led to the creation of the financial and social safety net measures that have helped prevent today's economic crisis from being a full-blown depression.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, October 28, 2009, The Brookings Institution
As the financial system continues to stabilize, the House Financial Services Committee has drafted legislation intended to prevent future crises. The latest bill, which has been endorsed by the Obama administration, focuses on systemic risk and financial institutions that are deemed to be “too big to fail.” Douglas Elliott analyzes the 253-page bill, saying he thinks the enhanced resolution authority is essential, but he raises serious concerns about the structure of the council intended to tackle systemic risks. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ross A. Hammond, October 23, 2009, Pew Financial Reform Project
The financial system is comprised of networks of connectivity, Ross Hammond dicusses how these networks may have enabled disruptions initially affecting only a few financial actors to rapidly spill over into a system-wide crisis.
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RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Kemal Derviş, October 08, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The fall global economic agenda is well underway with the completion of the G-20 Pittsburgh Summit and the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Istanbul. Kemal Derviş discusses the key themes coming out of these “historic” meetings, highlighting the essential roles of both the informal and formal channels of global economic governance and the way forward after the crisis. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Robert W. Crandall and Clifford Winston, October 05, 2009, Forbes
Robert Crandall and Clifford Winston respond to Paul Krugman's recent New York Times Magazine article which laments the current state of macroeconomics. The authors call attention to the fact that Krugman did not mention the state of microeconomics which, they argue, has not suffered any serious intellectual setbacks from the current Great Recession. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Kemal Derviş, October 04, 2009, IMF-World Bank 2009 Annual Meetings
During a lecture at the IMF-World Bank 2009 Annual Meetings, Kemal Derviş discussed global growth prospects following the economic crisis and the role that supply side factors and macroeconomic management can play. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Gary Burtless, September 30, 2009, National Journal
Gary Burtless examines the events of the past eighteen months and concludes that the status quo poses great risk to the U.S. finanical system and thus the current regulatory regime cannot be left unchanged. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin Neil Baily, September 30, 2009, Pew Financial Reform Project
Martin Baily argues that if there had been better consumer protection prior to the financial crisis, it would have ameliorated the severity of the crisis and might even have forestalled it. The best choice for the United States is a single conduct-of-business regulator and the Securities and Exchange Commission is the natural home for such a consumer protection agency. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin Neil Baily, September 29, 2009, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Martin Baily testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the creation of a single micro prudential regulator, combining the regulatory and supervisory functions now carried out by the Fed, the OCC, the OTS, the SEC and the FDIC. He calls attention to the Australia model as a good positive example where a single prudential regulator has worked well. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Warwick J. McKibbin and Andrew Stoeckel, September 28, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Warwick McKibbin and Andrew Stoeckel use modelling to explore the economic effects of a global financial crisis where businesses and households unexpectedly switch between a pessimistic view on risk and then to a more moderate temporary scenario. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Adriane Fresh and Martin Neil Baily, September 21, 2009, Pew Economic Policy Department
Examining the structure of financial regulation to see what lessons there may be for the United States, Martin Baily and Adriane Fresh dispel the idea that the experience of other countries makes it a waste of time to attempt substantial consolidation of regulatory agencies in the United States. Read More