"An expert on financial markets and regulation explains how middlemen like Amazon, Walmart, and big banks have become so powerful and have entrenched their dominance in the market, providing tips for readers so they can engage in more direct, ethical purchasing."

This Article presents a case study in how complexity arising from the evolu- tion and proliferation of a financial innovation can increase systemic risk. The subject of the case study is the securitization of home loans, an innovation which played a critical and still not fully understood-role...

Intermediaries are a pervasive feature of modern economies. This article draws attention to an under-theorized cost arising from the use of specialized intermediaries — a systematic shift in the mix of transactions consummated. The interests of intermediaries are imperfectly aligned with the...

This Article explores why the technologies that have transformed a range of industries by facilitating a dramatic rise in direct transactions — as reflected in the rapid growth of eBay, Etsy, and Airbnb, among others — have yet to similarly transform banking and other modes of financial...

Small businesses are among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. Many are shuttered, and far more face cash flow constraints, raising questions about just how many will survive this recession. The government has responded with a critical forgivable loan program, but for many of these...

This article argues that there is a fundamental mismatch between the nature of finance and current approaches to financial regulation. Today's financial system is a dynamic and complex ecosystem. For these and other reasons, policy makers and market actors regularly have only a fraction of the...

Data standardization offers significant benefits for industry and regulators alike, suggesting that it should be easy. In practice, however, the process has been difficult and slow moving. Moving from an abstract incentive-based analysis to one focused on institutional detail reveals myriad...