Olivia DrakeProfessor of Economics Richard Grossman was an invited discussant at a conference on “Understanding the Capital Structures of Non-Financial and Financial Corporations,” sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The conference took place in Cambridge, Mass. on April 5-6. Grossman discussed a paper titled “Short-Term Debt and Financial Crises: What can we Learn from Treasury Supply,” by Arvind Krishnamurthy and Annette Vissing-Jorgensen, both of Northwestern University. For more information see the conference's website.
Lauren RubensteinProfessor of Economics Richard Grossman had an op-ed in The Hartford Courant on Jan. 5 about negotiations over the "fiscal cliff" in Washington. He writes that though reasonable people may disagree over what top marginal tax rate is ideal for the economy, the stubborn resistance of Congressional Republicans to any tax increases is the product of ideology, not reason. Looking back over history, he writes, the "abdication of sound economic reasoning in favor of ideology" has resulted in numerous policy mistakes with long-lasting economic impacts. As an historical example, Grossman cites Britain's decision to return to the gold standard following…
Grossman says $8.5B settlement should make banks think twice before relaxing lending standards too much
On Sept. 14 and 15, Professor of Economics Richard Grossman attended a conference in Munich jointly sponsored by the Bundesbank (the German central bank) and a Munich-based research institute called CESifo. Grossman chaired a session and acted as a discussant at the conference, whose focus was, "The Banking Sector and the State." According to the conference website: "The current financial and sovereign debt crisis has shown once again that the banking sector and the state are intertwined in many ways: On the one hand, the state lends support to distressed banks and accepts risks from the private sector; in this…
Professor of Economics Richard Grossman published an op-ed in The Hartford Courant on August 7 about the global "Libor" banking scandal. Taking a lesson from the old mob-run "numbers racket," Grossman proposes an elegant solution to fixing deficits in the Libor, and renewing public confidence in the banking system. The Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is currently calculated by asking a group of banks to self-report the cost for them to borrow money from other banks. The highest and lowest 25 percent of submitted estimates are thrown out, and the average of the remaining submissions is the Libor. Banks are supposed to…
Following the Libor scandal, Grossman suggests taking a lesson from the mob to renew trust in banks
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask "5 Questions" of Professor of Economics Richard Grossman. In July, Grossman spoke to the Canadian news magazine Maclean's about the Libor scandal rocking the global financial industry. Grossman's 2010 book, Unsettled Account: The Evolution of Banking in the Industrialized World since 1800, reviews banking crises over the past 200 years in North America, Europe and other regions, and considers how they speak to today's financial crises around the world. He blogs at Unsettledaccount.com. Q: Professor Grossman, what is the Libor, and what is this scandal all about? A: “Libor” is the London InterBank…
In the wake of the LIBOR banking scandal, Richard Grossman, professor of economics, commented in the Canadian news magazine Maclean’s on July 13 about banking regulation throughout history. “It’s guaranteed to be a losing battle,” he said. “The incentives in banking are so strong and the money is so big. As soon as you close off one area, someone is going to think of a new way to do things.” Grossman stressed that governments and the public have a short memory when it comes to financial crises, so that regulations that seem prudent in one era become the next generation’s “political red tape.”…
Richard Grossman, professor of economics, was a discussant at the Research Group on Political Institutions and Economic Policy at Harvard University on Dec. 3. Grossman commented on a paper, “Trade shocks, mass movements and decolonization: Evidence from India’s independence struggle,” written by Assistant Professor of Political Economy Saumitra Jha of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. David Stasavage, professor of politics at New York University, served as co-discussant on the paper along with Professor Grossman.
Richard Grossman, professor of economics, served as program chair of the annual meetings of the Economic History Association Sept. 9-11 in Boston, Mass. Grossman was responsible for coordinating the work of the four member selection panel in choosing 45 papers. He also organized these into 15 sessions, selected and recruited discussants, session chairs, plenary speakers and graduate student poster presenters. More information of the annual meeting is online here.
Bill HolderEconomics professor explains why building infrastructure is the best way to promote job growth in Connecticut.
David PesciEconomics Professor's blog refutes an appraisal of economic policy uses facts only