Lauren RubensteinThe Fed's openness about its policymaking is a relatively new development, and a positive one
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman's paper, "A Monthly Stock Exchange Index for Ireland, 1864-1930," was published June 5 in the European Review of Economic History. Co-authored by professors at Trinity College Dublin, All Souls College (Oxford, UK), and Greater London Authority, the paper constructs new monthly Irish stock market price indices for 1864-1930. According to the abstract: "In addition to a total market index covering 118 equity securities issued by ninety-four companies, sectoral indices are presented for railways, financial services companies, and “other” companies. Nominal equity prices doubled between 1864 and 1898. Between the turn of the century and 1914,…
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman gave a public lecture about his book, WRONG: Nine Economic Policy Disasters and What We Can Learn From Them, at the Center for Economic Studies/Institute for Economic Research at Munich University on April 7. He delivered the talk in German. More information about the Munich Seminars is here. The book was published in November 2013 by Oxford University Press. A video of the lecture is available here.
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman is the author of an op-ed titled, "The Monetary Cosmopolitans," published March 27 on Project Syndicate, a website that publishes commentary "by global leaders and thinkers." Grossman expresses support for a new trend toward countries appointing foreigners, and those with considerable foreign experience, to what is widely considered a country's second most important post: that of the head of the central bank. "This represents a major departure from the tradition of filling central banks' top leadership positions with people who have spent most of their careers there—a tradition that, over time, allowed central banks to…
Kate CarlisleThe chairman of the Fed has extraordinary powers, and should be limited to serving two full four-year terms
Olivia DrakeRichard Grossman, professor of economics, spoke about the poor thinking behind nine of the worst economic policy mistakes of the past 200 years at Boston Public Library Dec. 4. Grossman is the author of the newly-published book, Wrong: Nine Economic Policy Disasters and What We Can Learn from Them. He also spoke about economic policy mistakes at the Seminary Coop Bookstore in Chicago on Nov. 14 and the Museum of American Finance in New York on Nov. 21. At Wesleyan, he teaches classes in American and European economic history, macroeconomics, and money and banking. Grossman also is a visiting scholar at the…
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman recently had three op-eds published in major newspapers. All related in different ways to the U.S. Congress' negotiations over the budget and debt ceiling, and the resulting shut down. Grossman is the author of a new book, Wrong: Nine Economic Policy Disasters and What We Can Learn from Them, published this month by Oxford University Press. Read more about it in this Wesleyan Connection story. The Hartford Courant on Oct. 4 published an op-ed by Grossman arguing that the Republicans were on an "ideological crusade" in their refusal to pass a continuing budget resolution unless substantial changes were made to the…
David LowRichard Grossman, professor of economics, is the author of Wrong: Nine Economics Policy Disasters and What We Can Learn from Them, published by Oxford University Press in October 2013. In recent years, the world has been rocked by major economic crises, most notably the devastating collapse of Lehman Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in American history, which triggered the breathtakingly destructive sub-prime disaster. What sparks these vast economic calamities? Why do our economic policy makers fail to protect us from such upheavals? In Wrong, Grossman addresses such questions, shining a light on the poor thinking behind nine of the worst economic policy mistakes…
On Sept. 10, Professor of Economics Richard Grossman participated in a Book Manuscript Workshop at Queen's University Centre for Economic History in Belfast, Ireland. He gave a talk on his forthcoming book, WRONG: Nine Economic Policy Disasters and What We Can Learn From Them. It will be published by Oxford University Press in October.
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman's op-ed, "The Best Way to Reform Libor: Scrap It," was published in The Wall Street Journal on July 25. "The British have learned nothing from the recent Libor scandal" involving the manipulation by banks of a vitally important interest-rate benchmark, writes Grossman. This is clear from a recent decision by a British government-appointed committee to hand over control of Libor to NYSE Euronext, a company that owns the New York Stock Exchange, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, and a number of other stock, bond, and derivatives exchanges. “In other words, the company that will be responsible for…
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman presented a paper during the Workshop on Monetary and Financial History, held June 26 at the at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The paper he presented, titled, "Bloody Foreigners! Overseas Equity on the London Stock Exchange, 1870-1913," considers data on capital gains, dividend, and total returns for domestic and overseas equities listed on the London Stock Exchange during 1870-1913. The paper is available to read here.
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman has been named a 2013 Guggenheim Fellow. He will work on a project about the evolution of banking regulation across the industrialized world. Awarded by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the fellowship assists research and artistic creation “for men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.” This year, 175 scholars, artists and scientists were selected to receive fellowships from a group of almost 3,000 applicants from the U.S. and Canada. “The Guggenheim Foundation has been giving awards to distinguished scholars and artists for…