Has economic research been helpful in dealing with the financial crises of the early 2000s? On the whole, the answer is negative, although there are bright spots. Economists have largely failed to predict both crises, largely because most of them were not analytically equipped to understand...

In this paper we describe systemic financial risk as a pollution issue. Free riding leads to excess risk production. This problem may be solved, at least partially, either with financial regulation or taxation. From a normative viewpoint taxation is superior in many respects. However, reality...

This paper focuses on the need for a lex specialis for resolution of insolvent banks and other financial institutions serving similar functions, and on requirements for making resolution procedures effective. After a review of the objectives of general insolvency law and the special...

A model is presented that shows when (Basel Accord) capital standards and (FDIC) insurance premiums primarily reflect a bank's physical expected default losses, a bank can increase its shareholder value by making loans and investing in bonds that have relatively high systematic risk. Such an...

We examine the assertion that ratings from the ratings agencies that explicitly assume governmental support for Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) translate into lower spreads and a funding cost advantage for those G-SIBs. We analyze whether the market over the past 14 years in fact...

Several commentators have argued that financial “reform” legislation enacted after a market crash is invariably flawed, results in “quack corporate governance” and “bubble laws,” and should be discouraged. This criticism has been specifically directed at both the Sarbanes-Oxley Act...

This paper develops a methodology for identifying systemically important financial institutions based on that developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (2011) and used by the Financial Stability Board in its yearly G-SIBs identification. The methodology uses publicly available data...

The paper contains comments made on the Financial Stability Board's (FSB) Consultation Report concerning the success of regulatory reforms since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. According to these comments, the FSB’s assessment of the role of equity is too narrow, being phrased in...

This paper focuses on the need for a lex specialis for resolution of insolvent banks and other financial institutions serving similar functions, and on requirements for making resolution procedures effective. After a review of the objectives of general insolvency law and the special...