Since 1975, investment managers in the United States have been permitted to pay excess brokerage commissions on securities transactions and then utilize those excess payments—commonly known as “soft dollars”—to purchase research and related services, thereby subsidizing the investment...

In previous work with Mark Lemley I have discussed the critical role played by the courts in fitting patent law to the ongoing needs of innovation. Careful scrutiny of the recently enacted America Invents Act (AIA), which legislatively reforms American patent law, underscores the need for robust...

The paper unveils whether ICT diffusion determines development of financial innovation in emerging economies. Particularly, we examine the impact of ICT adoption on changing values of exchange traded funds in Brazil and Mexico, comparing it to the United States as reference country (benchmark)....

Exchange traded funds (ETFs), funds structured in order to mimic the performance of selected financial assets, are one of the most significant innovative financial instruments recently introduced. They have gained considerable popularity among investors due to their advantages in comparison with...

The paper unveils whether ICT diffusion determines development of financial innovation in emerging economies. Particularly, we examine the impact of ICT adoption on changing values of exchange traded funds in Brazil and Mexico, comparing it to the United States as reference country (benchmark)....

This paper examines the quality of credit ratings assigned to banks in Europe and the United States by the three largest rating agencies over the past two decades. We interpret credit ratings as relative assessments of creditworthiness, and define a new ordinal metric of rating error based on...

From 2000-2006 U.S. house prices and mortgage credit grew while the relative cost of mortgage credit fell - particularly for privately securitized mortgages - suggesting a credit supply expansion. This paper explores two (credit supply) shocks: an increased inow of global savings into the United...

This paper examines racial disparities in mortgage processing time prior to the global financial crisis. We find that Black borrowers are underrepresented and experience a longer processing time than White borrowers among the mortgages securitized by government-sponsored enterprises. At the same...

While most economists agree that the world is facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, there is little agreement as to what caused it. Some have argued that the financial instability we are witnessing is due to irrational exuberance of market participants, fraud, greed, too...

During the past decade non-bank institutional investors are increasingly taking larger roles in the corporate lending than they historically have played. These non-bank institutional lenders typically have higher required rates of return than banks, but invest in the same loan facilities. In a...