Mortage Bailout
A letter to Congress against the TARP plan to buy sick mortgages. Luigi Zingales and Paloa Sapienza get credit for organizing this, with help from Anil Kashyap and Rob Shimer. Disclaimer: This letter was sent to Congress on Wed Sept 24 2008 regarding the Treasury plan as outlined on that date. It does not reflect all signatories' views on subesquent plans or modifications of the bill. A nice map showing where signatories come from courtesy of Mark Stouffer. Before anyone gets as swell head, it's worth reading the petition against Smoot-Hawley signed by 1028 economists.
A letter to Congress against the TARP plan to buy sick mortgages. Luigi Zingales and Paloa Sapienza get credit for organizing this, with help from Anil Kashyap and Rob Shimer. Disclaimer: This letter was sent to Congress on Wed Sept 24 2008 regarding the Treasury plan as outlined on that date. It does not reflect all signatories' views on subesquent plans or modifications of the bill. A nice map showing where signatories come from courtesy of Mark Stouffer. Before anyone gets as swell head, it's worth reading the petition against Smoot-Hawley signed by 1028 economists.
Milton Friedman Institute
The proposed Milton Friedman Institute made the news, thanks to a faculty protest letter. The letter is an interesting insight into academia, even here, with its talk of the “neoliberal global order,” “service of globalized capital,” “substitution of monetization for democratization.” I wrote a set of critical comments that got some press and amused my friends.
The protesters created a website (2014: alas apparently defunct, too bad, it was fun), and there is now a new website FriedmanFacts.com debunking them (2014: now hijacked to some nefarious marketing company). Gary Becker wrote an insightful blog post. In October 11 2008 I wrote a response to a new petition (2014: alas, now also seems to have vanished from the internet) against MFI.
All this is ancient history. The Institute, now named the Becker-Friedman institute, is up and running supporting all sorts of interesting research.
The proposed Milton Friedman Institute made the news, thanks to a faculty protest letter. The letter is an interesting insight into academia, even here, with its talk of the “neoliberal global order,” “service of globalized capital,” “substitution of monetization for democratization.” I wrote a set of critical comments that got some press and amused my friends.
The protesters created a website (2014: alas apparently defunct, too bad, it was fun), and there is now a new website FriedmanFacts.com debunking them (2014: now hijacked to some nefarious marketing company). Gary Becker wrote an insightful blog post. In October 11 2008 I wrote a response to a new petition (2014: alas, now also seems to have vanished from the internet) against MFI.
All this is ancient history. The Institute, now named the Becker-Friedman institute, is up and running supporting all sorts of interesting research.
Efficient Markets Today
Efficient Markets Today Talk given at the Conference on Chicago Economics. A second “discount rate” revolution has followed the first efficient-markets revolution, and dramatically changes how we think about financial markets. Alpha and beta are dead.
Efficient Markets Today Talk given at the Conference on Chicago Economics. A second “discount rate” revolution has followed the first efficient-markets revolution, and dramatically changes how we think about financial markets. Alpha and beta are dead.
Comments on the credit situation
Comments on the credit situation given at the GSB Global Financial Markets Forum, Sept 25 2007. Some good aspects of the current situation, some unheralded aspects of the Fed’s policy, some things that went wrong, and the downside of some quick fixes. Video of the event.
Comments on the credit situation given at the GSB Global Financial Markets Forum, Sept 25 2007. Some good aspects of the current situation, some unheralded aspects of the Fed’s policy, some things that went wrong, and the downside of some quick fixes. Video of the event.
Earlier Comments on the credit situation
Given at the GSB Global Financial Markets Forum. Some good aspects of the current situation, some unheralded aspects of the Fed’s policy, some things that went wrong, and the downside of some quick fixes.
Earlier Comments on the credit situation given at the GSB Global Financial Markets Forum. Some good aspects of the current situation, some unheralded aspects of the Fed’s policy, some things that went wrong, and the downside of some quick fixes.
Cost of Capital
Slides for a talk on cost of capital given at NABE conference, Sept 25 2005. The old advice to use the CAPM and 6% for cost of capital doesn’t make any sense now that we know expected returns vary over time.
Slides for a talk on cost of capital given at NABE conference, Sept 25 2005. The old advice to use the CAPM and 6% for cost of capital doesn’t make any sense now that we know expected returns vary over time.
Asset Pricing and the Equity Premium
Slides for the Smith-O’Brian Lecture, Notre Dame University, October 8 2004. (An update of several related talks)
Slides for the Smith-O’Brian Lecture, Notre Dame University, October 8 2004. (An update of several related talks)