This paper outlines the fundamental economic forces that have led to the decline in traditional banking, that is the process of making loans and funding them by issuing short-dated deposits. The declining competitiveness of traditional banking may threaten financial stability by increasing bank...

This study examines the hypothesis advanced by Wellington and Winter that public sector unions have greater power than private sector unions to raise wages. To test this hypothesis the authors use a unique body of 1971 data on several aspects of residential solid waste collection in 175 cities,...

In recent years, the traditional business of banks--making long-term loans and funding them by issuing short--dated deposits-has declined. This development has raised concerns that more banks will fail or be forced to assume greater risk to remain profitable. This article first examines the...

Despite the substantial growth of institutional ownership of U.S. corporations in the past 20 years, there is little evidence that institutional investors have acquired the kind of concentrated ownership positions required to be able to play a dominant role in the corporate governance process....

Hedge funds are attracting increased attention because of their reputation for earning superior (risk-adjusted) returns. Hedge Fund Research Inc. estimates that in 2001 there were about 7,000 hedge funds with investor capital of about $600 billion. And yet the diversity of hedge funds, combined...

The performance of managed commodity fund investments during the years l982 through 1996 is examined, both as stand‐alone investments and as assets in diversified stock and bond portfolios. Nine stylized commodity fund investments are examined: randomly‐selected, single‐CTAs, pool, and...