Clark Center Forum

by Tobias J. Moskowitz Several years after the global financial crisis, the fierce debate over regulation continues to be driven by strong beliefs — largely uninformed ones — rather than hard facts. Some believe more regulation is necessary, others that it would cause the downfall of our markets. No one, however, seems to be talking […] 

 

by Harry L. Davis Much has been written about the qualities of successful leaders. These attributes often seem to float above any specific context, in the same way that a consumer’s preference expressed in a focus group is assumed to be equally present when that person is shopping in a grocery store or preparing a […] 

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statement:

Cuba’s low per-capita income growth — 1.2 percent per year since 1960 —has more to do with Cuba’s own economic policies than with the U.S. embargo on trade and tourism. 

by Reid Hastie As commentators, politicians and academics struggle to make sense of the recent financial crisis and its ramifications, many of their accounts seek to identify a root cause or the “beginning of the story.” Theories abound… Read article> 

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel poll statements:

A) Reducing the minimum retirement age in France from 62 back to age 60, permanently, would reduce long-term French economic growth and substantially raise French debt relative to GDP over time.

B) France’s overall employment is higher today because of the 35 hour work week than it would be without a limit on weekly hours. 

by Ray Ball Mark-to-market accounting has long been viewed in academia as the gold standard for preparing financial statements. The rule makers, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board, are coming to the same view. Yet shifting to those norms has some adverse consequences for investors. Read article> 

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel poll statement:

Connecticut should pass its Senate Bill 60, which states that during a “severe weather event emergency, no person within the chain of distribution of consumer goods and services shall sell or offer to sell consumer goods or services for a price that is unconscionably excessive.” 

The themes of inequality and the 1 percent dominate the news. Critics deplore that the share of pretax income accruing to those at the top has increased markedly over the past 30 years and is now greater than it has been since the 1920s. It is suggested, too, that growth in income inequality has been […] 

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel poll statement:

The former head of the Transportation Security Administration is correct in arguing that randomizing airport “security procedures encountered by passengers (additional upper-torso pat-downs, a thorough bag search, a swab test of carry-ons, etc.), while not subjecting everyone to the full gamut" would make it "much harder for terrorists to learn how to evade security procedures."