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Full-Text Articles in Law
Toward Transatlantic Convergence In Financial Regulation, Hwa-Jin Kim
Toward Transatlantic Convergence In Financial Regulation, Hwa-Jin Kim
Law & Economics Working Papers
This Article reviews the historical background of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 along with the developments in the markets that led to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. It analyzes the discussions on the Volcker Rule in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 from a comparative perspective. It shows how the reform in the United States may impact financial institutions and markets in other jurisdictions. Germany and Switzerland, where universal banking is the hallmark of the financial services industry, are the primary jurisdictions of interest. After taking a historical and political look at the regulation of …
Preferences For Banking And Payment Services Among Low- And Moderate-Income Households, Michael S. Barr, Jane Dokko, Eleanor Feit
Preferences For Banking And Payment Services Among Low- And Moderate-Income Households, Michael S. Barr, Jane Dokko, Eleanor Feit
Law & Economics Working Papers
This paper characterizes the features of an account-based payment card – including bank debit cards, prepaid debit cards, and payroll cards – that elicit a high take-rate among low- and moderate-income (LMI) households, particularly those without bank accounts. We apply marketing research techniques, specifically choice modeling, to identify the design of a specific financial services product for LMI households, who often face difficulties maintaining standard bank accounts but need banking services. After monthly cost, we find that, on average, non-monetary features of a payment card, such as the availability of federal protection and the type of card, are factors LMI …
Taxation As Regulation: Carbon Tax, Health Care Tax, Bank Tax And Other Regulatory Taxes, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
Taxation As Regulation: Carbon Tax, Health Care Tax, Bank Tax And Other Regulatory Taxes, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
Law & Economics Working Papers
This paper addresses three questions: 1. Is regulation a legitimate goal for taxation? 2. Which tax is best suited for regulation? 3. Would it be better to allocate just one goal per tax among the major taxes (individual and corporate income tax and VAT)? It then analyzes the proposed bank tax and the enacted health care tax as regulatory taxes, and concludes that the first is desirable (as is a carbon tax) but the second is not.
Do Individual Investors Affect Share Price Accuracy? Some Preliminary Evidence, Alicia Davis Evans
Do Individual Investors Affect Share Price Accuracy? Some Preliminary Evidence, Alicia Davis Evans
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
A common belief is that individual investors are noise traders that distort stock prices. Because accurate share prices are important for economic functioning, the market effect of retail investors has significant regulatory implications. This paper, employing a new NYSE retail trading data set and the R2 metric of share price informedness, contributes to the debate by demonstrating that as the proportion of trading by individual investors increases, the R2 of firms decreases. Adherents of the R2 methodology hold that lower R2's imply more accurate stock prices. The results of an instrumental variable estimation suggest that this relationship is a causal …
Paying To Save: Tax Withholding And Asset Allocation Among Low- And Moderate-Income Taxpayers, Michael S. Barr, Jane Dokko
Paying To Save: Tax Withholding And Asset Allocation Among Low- And Moderate-Income Taxpayers, Michael S. Barr, Jane Dokko
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
We analyze the phenomenon that low- and moderate-income (LMI) tax filers exhibit a “preference for over-withholding” their taxes, a measure we derive from a unique set of questions administered in a dataset of 1,003 households, which we collected through the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan. We argue that the relationship between their withholding preference and portfolio allocation across liquid and illiquid assets is consistent with models with present-biased preferences, and that individuals exhibit self-control problems when making their consumption and saving decisions. Our results support a model in which individuals use commitment devices to constrain their consumption. …
Institutions And Inclusion In Saving Policy, Michael S. Barr, Michael Sherraden
Institutions And Inclusion In Saving Policy, Michael S. Barr, Michael Sherraden
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
No abstract provided.
Credit Where It Counts: Maintaining A Strong Community Reinvestment Act, Michael S. Barr
Credit Where It Counts: Maintaining A Strong Community Reinvestment Act, Michael S. Barr
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has helped to revitalize low- and moderate-income communities and provided expanded opportunities for low- and moderate-income households. Recent regulatory steps aimed at alleviating burdens on banks and thrifts are unwarranted, and may diminish small business lending as well as community development investments and services. This policy brief explains the rationale for CRA, demonstrates its effectiveness, and argues that the recent regulatory proposals should be withdrawn or significantly modified.
Modes Of Credit Market Regulation, Michael S. Barr
Modes Of Credit Market Regulation, Michael S. Barr
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
No abstract provided.
Credit Where It Counts: The Community Reinvestment Act And Its Critics, Michael S. Barr
Credit Where It Counts: The Community Reinvestment Act And Its Critics, Michael S. Barr
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
Despite the depth and breadth of U.S. credit markets, low- and moderate-income communities and minority borrowers have not historically enjoyed full access to credit. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted in 1977 to help overcome barriers to credit that these groups faced. Scholars have long leveled numerous critiques against CRA as unnecessary, ineffectual, costly, and lawless. Many have argued that CRA should be eliminated. By contrast, I contend that market failures and discrimination justify governmental intervention and that CRA is a reasonable policy response to these problems. Using recent empirical evidence, I demonstrate that over the last decade CRA …
Globalization, Law & Development: Introduction And Overview, Michael S. Barr, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
Globalization, Law & Development: Introduction And Overview, Michael S. Barr, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
No abstract provided.
Microfinance And Financial Development, Michael S. Barr
Microfinance And Financial Development, Michael S. Barr
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
No abstract provided.
Banking The Poor: Policies To Bring Low-Income Americans Into The Financial Mainstream, Michael S. Barr
Banking The Poor: Policies To Bring Low-Income Americans Into The Financial Mainstream, Michael S. Barr
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
Low-income households in the United States often lack access to bank accounts and face high costs for conducting basic financial transactions through check cashers and other alternative financial service providers. These families find it more difficult to save and plan financially for the future. Living paycheck to paycheck leaves them vulnerable to medical or job emergencies that may endanger their financial stability, and lack of longer-term savings undermines their ability to improve skills, purchase a home, or send their children to college. High-cost financial services and inadequate access to bank accounts may undermine widely-shared societal goals of reducing poverty, moving …
Banking The Poor, Michael S. Barr
Banking The Poor, Michael S. Barr
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
Low-income households often lack access to banking accounts and face high costs for transacting basic financial services through check cashers and other alternative financial service providers. These families find it more difficult to save and plan financially for the future. Living paycheck to paycheck leaves them vulnerable to medical or job emergencies that may endanger their financial stability, and lack of longer-term savings undermines their ability to improve skills, purchase a home, or send their children to college. Additionally, high cost financial services and inadequate access to bank accounts may undermine widely-shared societal goals of reducing poverty, moving families from …
A Comparative Empirical Investigation Of Agency And Market Theories Of Insider Trading, Laura N. Beny
A Comparative Empirical Investigation Of Agency And Market Theories Of Insider Trading, Laura N. Beny
Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009
The paper summarizes various agency cost and market theories of insider trading propounded over the course of the perennial law and economics debate over insider trading. The paper then suggests three testable hypotheses regarding the relationship between insider trading laws and several measures of financial performance. Using international data and alternative regression specifications, the paper finds that more stringent insider trading laws and enforcement are generally associated with greater ownership dispersion, greater stock price accuracy and greater stock market liquidity. This set of findings provides empirical support to theoretical arguments in favor of more stringent insider trading legislation and enforcement.