Tim Kuhner (Georgia State): Political Finance as the Central Issue of Our Time. Sandy Brian Hager (LSE): Public Debt as Corporate Power: Mapping the New Aristocracy of Finance. Bengt Holmstrom (MIT): Understanding the Role of Debt in the Financial System. Andrew Baker (QUB): The Bankers’ Paradox: The Political Economy of Macroprudential Regulation. In new Congress, Wall Street pushes to undermine Dodd-Frank reform. Wall Street is dismantling financial reform piece by piece. Danny Vinik on how Elizabeth Warren’s warnings about financial reform are already coming true. Time to get serious about bank reform: After the financial crisis, governments staved off a second Great Depression too well; this triumph let them duck tough reforms — until now. Why our success in managing the banking crisis was the mother of failure: Henry Farrell interviews Barry Eichengreen, author of Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, The Great Recession, and the Uses — and Misuses — of History. Wall Street’s comeback, too big to resist: There will be another crisis — no law can stop it, no regulator can foresee it. Hamilton Nolan on how Wall Street is a leech. Warning: Too much finance is bad for the economy. Crush the financial sector, end the great stagnation? It's a wonderful life on Wall Street, yet here is a holiday wish list to make it even better.
Hannes Rusch (Giessen): Do Bankers Have Deviant Moral Attitudes? Negative Results from a Tentative Survey. It’s a well-established fact that pretty much everything on earth would run better if women were in charge — that dictum would seem to extend to the financial markets. James Brassett and Lena Rethel (Warwick): Sexy Money: The Hetero-Normative Politics of Global Finance. Yes, there is such a thing as a “financial dominatrix”, and it’s as bizarre as you think. Make policy for real, not ideal, humans: Many believe dysfunctional behaviour in finance is due solely to distorted incentives. Lauren Kirchner interviews Ian Klaus, author of Forging Capitalism: Rogues, Swindlers, Frauds, and the Rise of Modern Finance. From TNR, David Dayen on how Wall Street pays bankers to work in government and it doesn't want anyone to know; and on how Wall Street is fighting to rip off your retirement money. A decoder for financial illiterates: Sarah Lyall reviews How to Speak Money: What the Money People Say — And What It Really Means by John Lanchester. Stop trying to make financial literacy happen: Helaine Olen on how it’s a noble distraction from actual consumer protection — that’s why the financial services industry loves it. Obama's newest plan might drive investment advisers out of business — good.
