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
PAST EVENT
Thursday, January 05, 2012
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC
On January 5, the Brookings Institution hosted Richard Cordray, the former attorney general of Ohio and newly appointed director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for a conversation on his vision for the new consumer agency. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Michael Barr, December 21, 2011, The Brookings Institution
Michael Barr summarizes the financial reform measures that have been put in place both in the United States and abroad since the 2008 financial crisis. Barr discusses in further detail the threats to reform's implementation, both political and within the industry, that have deveolped since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in July 2010. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
John Villasenor, Cody Monk and Christopher Bronk, August 29, 2011, The Brookings Institution and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
Internet and mobile phone networks are potential conduits for vastly expanded criminal financial transactions. John Villasenor, Cody Monk and Chris Bronk discuss steps that government agencies and the industry can take to address their growing inability to track illicit financial transactions. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Robert C. Pozen, August 12, 2011, The Financial Times
Robert Pozen argues that temporarily banning short selling of financial stocks, as four European countries have done recently, is a mistake that imposes significant costs on capital markets. 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
Michael Barr, June 14, 2011, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, Committee on Financial Services, United States House of Representatives
Before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, Michael Barr defends the Dodd-Frank Act as necessary to end the perception of many financial institutions being "too big to fail" and argues that its financial regulation and reform measures ultimately help secure the American finance industry from falling into another crisis. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Robert C. Pozen, May 22, 2011, Financial Times
Although target date funds are now a popular option for retirement plans in the United States, Robert Pozen explains why balanced funds-which keep 60 percent of their assets in stocks and 40 percent in bonds-are a better option. Read More
PAST EVENT
Monday, May 16, 2011
1:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Washington, DC
On May 16, the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings, the Central Bank of Kenya and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion hosted a discussion on how financial inclusion in Africa can be supported by innovations in mobile technology and financial services. Panelists addressed various issues surrounding the development, implementation and expansion of mobile financial services to improve the livelihoods of people in Africa. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Karen Dynan and Ted Gayer, February 09, 2011, The Brookings Institution
Karen Dynan and Ted Gayer lay out the broad outlines of a new housing finance model that attempts
to address the weaknesses of an old system centered around Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The new system includes a limited government role of providing credit guarantees for qualifying mortgage securities, and reduces the incentives for excessive risk-taking embedded in the old system, which Dynan and Gayer consider essential to fostering long-term economic growth. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Karen Dynan, October 18, 2010, Institute for Research on Poverty
In her presentation for the Institute for Research on Poverty, Karen Dynan explained how low-income households benefit from the economic security of having access to credit. However, new financial regulation laws present challenges whose effects to the low-income credit market are not yet fully known. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William G. Gale and Ruth Levine, October 2010, Brookings
William Gale and Ruth Levine highlight the extent and effects of financial illiteracy among American households, review previous efforts to promote financial literacy, and discuss new directions for such initiatives. The authors find reason to believe that both private actions and public policy strategies can influence saving behavior and conclude that improving financial literacy should be a first-order concern for policy-makers because gains could accrue not only to the affected individuals, but also to their family members and society at large. Read More
PAST EVENT
Thursday, September 30, 2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC
As experts, policymakers, the business community and citizens grapple with assigning responsibility for the financial crisis, the private investment community remains a target for harsh criticism. On September 30, the Initiative on Business and Public Policy at Brookings will host a forum to examine the effectiveness of private capital in revitalizing the economy both in the United States and abroad. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) will offer a keynote address. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin Mayer, August 2010, Risk Professional
Given their role in America's economic meltdown, credit rating organizations have been heavily scrutinized, and critics have not been lacking for ammunition. Martin Mayer writes that the agencies face a future of increased regulation, and possibly, more competition. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Urjit R. Patel, July 26, 2010, The Brookings Institution
The challenge of reining in large fiscal deficits has re-emerged in India and elsewhere. Urjit Patel highlights a recent paper that explored India’s experience with fiscal responsibility rules, specificaly the outcomes of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, as well as fiscal responsibility legislations. Read More