Clark Center Forum

This post makes available an autobiographical note by Gene Fama that was commissioned by the Annual Review of Financial Economics. Gene’s remarkable career and vision, to say nothing of his engaging writing style, make this short piece a must read for anyone interested in finance. However, as his colleagues, we believe his modesty led him […] 

Oliver Hart and Luigi Zingales FT.com, February 7th, 2010 In the struggle to identify how to avoid a repeat of last year’s financial crisis there is an emerging consensus among regulators, academics and practitioners that contingent convertible (Coco) bonds are the way to go. The idea is to have some debt in the capital structure […] 

Regulation Winter 2009-2010 With the benefit of a year’s hindsight, we can now look on the financial crisis and determine what was really the central problem, as well as identify what are the most important policy changes needed to avoid repeating the crisis. In my view, the usual suspects — “global imbalances” of saving or […] 

Douglas Diamond and Anil K Kashyap The New York Times, Op-ed WALL STREET is considering legal action to prevent President Obama from imposing a new tax on bailed-out financial institutions. Because the law that created the Troubled Asset Relief Program compels the government to recoup the bailout money, it’s unlikely that banks will succeed in […] 

FT.com, December 16th, 2009 The idea of imposing a tax on financial transactions, also called the Tobin tax after the economist who first proposed it, is back in vogue. It has strong political appeal, catering to demands to punish banks for the crisis they have bestowed. It satisfies the political need to do something to […] 

The Economists’ Voice Pay structures weren’t the problem, argues Steven Kaplan, who suggests that contingent equity is a better way to avoid bailouts. Read article> Please note that guest registration may be necessary to download the article. 

Anil K. Kashyap and Frederic S. Mishkin Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2009 Anil Kashyap and Frederic Mishkin discuss the Federal Reserve’s independence and the impact of  the Congressman Ron Paul’s bill (H. R. 1207).  They also explore an amendment that would mitigate the negative consequences of Congressman Paul’s bill. Read more> 

Christian Laux and Christian Leuz Fair-value accounting (FVA), also known as “mark-to-market” accounting, has been blamed for contributing significantly to the financial crisis. But Christian Leuz, of Chicago Booth, and his coauthor, Christian Laux, have analyzed the role of FVA for U.S. banks and conclude that there is no evidence that fair-value accounting added to […] 

Forbes.com, October 14th, 2009 In “Getting Back to Work,” Professor Steven J. Davis offers four proposals to foster job creation and reverse the steep rise in unemployment. Unlike proposals circulating in Washington, Professor Davis’s proposals won’t break the budget or raise tax burdens. Read article> 

September 25th, 2009 Thoughts from Anil Kashyap on priorities for financial system regulatory reform.  “Where do we go from here” are his remarks at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s 12th International Banking Conference September 25, 2009. Read remarks>