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Finance, Banking & Monetary Policy

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The Community Reinvestment Act in the Age of Fintech and Bank Competition

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The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires banks to lend to low- and moderate-income (LMI) households in the areas where they take deposits. However, the competitive environment is much changed from when the CRA came into force in 1977, and mounting evidence suggests the CRA is either ineffective or damaging. A new study from Cato scholar Diego Zuluaga argues that there is a strong case for repealing the CRA in favor of alternative policies that better achieve its goals.

Should Governments Restrict Cash?

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Central bankers and mainstream monetary economists have become intrigued with the idea of reducing, or even entirely eliminating, hand-to-hand currency. Yet the arguments for phasing out cash or confining it to small denomination bills are, when not entirely mistaken, extremely weak. In a new paper, Cato scholar Jeffrey Rogers Hummel argues that proponents of restricting cash appreciably oversell any advantages and ignore or understate the severe disadvantages.

Should Cryptocurrencies Be Regulated like Securities?

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In less than a decade, cryptocurrencies have moved from the fringes of financial market activity to a $300 billion asset class traded on exchanges and owned by mainstream investors. Yet a great deal of regulatory uncertainty still surrounds cryptocurrencies. A new paper from Cato scholar Diego Zuluaga discusses how cryptocurrencies fit established regulatory practice, and proposes a framework to provide greater regulatory certainty to market participants and enable the growth of this new technology while fulfilling the policy objectives of the relevant regulatory agencies.

Policy Scholars

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John A. Allison
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James A. Dorn
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Steve H. Hanke
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Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr.
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George Selgin
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Diego Zuluaga
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Todd Zywicki

Subtopics

  • Finance and Banking
  • Financial Crises and the Global Financial System
  • Financial Regulation
  • Housing Markets
  • The Fed and Monetary Policy

Featured

Regulation Vol. 42 No. 4

Too Small to Succeed?

By Diego Zuluaga.
Blog

Warren Mosler and the Great American Banking Myth

By George Selgin.

On the subject of bank runs, Warren Mosler shows no signs of being well-informed.

Commentary

The UK’s Infrastructure arms Race Leads Us down a Road to Nowhere

By Ryan Bourne. UK Telegraph.
Blog

Stop the Presses! or, How the Fed Can Avoid Reserve Shortages without Bulking‐​Up, Part 2

By George Selgin.

Equipped with some historical background, we can now consider ways in which the Fed might get the Treasury and Foreign Official Institutions (FOIs) to revive their pre-crisis practice of parking surplus dollars somewhere other than at the Fed.

Commentary

Venezuela’s Hyperinflation Drags on for a Near Record — 36 Months

By Steve H. Hanke. Forbes.com.
Studies in Applied Economics No. 140

On Extending the Currency Board Principle in Bulgaria: Long Live the Currency Board

By Steve H. Hanke. Studies in Applied Economics.

Subtopics

  • Finance and Banking
  • Financial Crises and the Global Financial System
  • Financial Regulation
  • Housing Markets
  • The Fed and Monetary Policy

Multimedia

Is the Best Inflation Target Zero?

Featuring Judy Shelton and Caleb O. Brown. December 7, 2019.

The Myth of Independence: How Congress Governs the Federal Reserve

Featuring Mark Spindel and Caleb O. Brown. December 5, 2019.

Tanja Porčnik discusses consumerism and bank regulation on TV Slovenija 2

Featuring Tanja Porčnik. December 5, 2019.

Diego Zuluaga discusses the Community Reinvestment Act on RTP’s Fourth Branch Podcast

Featuring Diego Zuluaga. December 5, 2019.
More Multimedia

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