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341. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

Author:
David Beckworth
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The historian Niall Ferguson can never be accused of lacking boldness. Over the past decade he has argued, among other things, that Europe would have been better off had Great Britain stayed out of World War I and allowed Germany to win, that the British empire provided a global public good that benefited the world economy, and that the United States should follow suit today by more actively embracing the demands of empire. He has also been championing the burgeoning field of counterfactual history, a development that many historians consider controversial given its speculative nature.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Germany

342. Small Change: Money, Political Parties, and Campaign Finance Reform

Author:
R. Sam Garrett
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Ray La Raja has written one of the most provocative campaign finance books in recent memory. Small Change causes the reader to struggle with fundamental “truths” about money and politics, to revisit old questions, and to ask new ones. La Raja directly challenges prevailing scholarship—and popular wisdom—concerning the purposes and origins of campaign finance regulation and its effect on political parties. The dual focus on campaign finance and American political parties is arguably the book's greatest strength. (La Raja generally uses the term “regulation” broadly, although his focus is on major changes in law rather than on regulations, such as those issued by the Federal Election Commission. For expediency, this review also uses the term “regulation” to encompass both federal campaign finance law and agency regulations.)
Political Geography:
America

343. The Libertarian Illusion: Ideology, Public Policy, and the Assault on the Common Good

Author:
Jason Kuznicki
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
It is daunting to review a book claiming that everything you believe is wrong. Fortunately, William Hudson's The Libertarian Illusion also attacks many things that neither I nor very many other libertarians believe. This gives courage for the rest.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
California

344. Bailout or Bankruptcy?

Author:
Jeffrey A. Miron
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
At the end of September 2007, the U.S. economy had experienced 24 consecutive quarters of positive GDP growth, at an average annual rate of 2.73 percent. The S 500 Index stood at roughly 1,500, having rebounded over 600 points from its low point in 2003. Unemployment was below 5 percent, and inflation was low and stable.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Privatization
Political Geography:
United States

345. Origins of the Financial Market Crisis of 2008

Author:
Anna J. Schwartz
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
I begin by describing the factors that contributed to the financial market crisis of 2008. I end by proposing policies that could have prevented the baleful effects that produced the crisis.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Privatization, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

346. Reflections on the Financial Crisis

Author:
Allan H. Meltzer
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
I am going to make several unrelated points, and then I am going to discuss how we got into this financial crisis and some needed changes to reduce the risk of future crises.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Privatization, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

347. Monetary Policy and Asset Prices Revisited

Author:
Donald L. Kohn
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
We are in the midst of a global financial crisis that is now weighing heavily on economies around the world. Although the outlook remains extremely uncertain, both the fragility of the financial system and the weakness in real activity seem likely to persist for a while. To promote maximum sustainable economic growth and price stability, the Federal Reserve has responded to this crisis by easing monetary policy markedly, and we have greatly expanded our liquidity facilities to keep credit flowing when private lenders have become reluctant or unable to do so. Other central banks have also cut policy rates significantly and expanded their lending. In addition, the federal government and governments around the world have taken extraordinary actions to strengthen financial systems to preserve the ability of households and businesses to borrow and spend.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Privatization
Political Geography:
United States

348. Asset Prices and Monetary Policy

Author:
Otmar Issing
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Beyond dealing with the immediate problems, any crisis raises questions of why and how we got there and what lessons should be drawn to avoid a repetition of past developments—without laying the ground for a new disaster. This line of inquiry also applies to the current crisis in financial markets. Even during the heaviest turbulence a discussion has started on obvious deficits in the system of regulation and supervision and on badly needed improvements. In this article, I concentrate on monetary policy but that does not mean regulatory measures are irrelevant in this context, quite the opposite.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Privatization
Political Geography:
United States

349. What Lessons Can We Learn from the Boom and Turmoil?

Author:
Jeffrey M. Lacker
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The current financial crisis undoubtedly will inspire a great deal of research in the years ahead, and it may take some time before anything like a professional consensus emerges on causes and consequences. After all, it took several decades to document the causes of the Great Depression, and recent research continues to provide new perspectives. Nonetheless, I believe the central questions that are likely to occupy researchers are plainly in view, and some tentative lessons have emerged already. And in any event, legislators are not likely to await the fruits of future scholarship.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Privatization, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

350. Financial Innovation, Regulation, and Reform

Author:
Charles W. Calomiris
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Financial innovations often respond to regulation by sidestepping regulatory restrictions that would otherwise limit activities in which people wish to engage. Securitization of loans (e.g., credit card receivables, or subprime residential mortgages) is often portrayed, correctly, as having arisen in part as a means of “arbitraging” regulatory capital requirements by booking assets off the balance sheets of regulated banks. Originators of the loans were able to maintain lower equity capital against those loans than they otherwise would have needed to maintain if the loans had been placed on their balance sheet.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Privatization
Political Geography:
United States