Changes in the general level of prices and inflation have profound effects on asset prices. There are several reasons for these effects and the influence differs depending on the source of the inflation and whether it is expected or not. To understand these effects, it is important to clarify...

In recent decades, bank regulators have become increasingly reliant upon quantitative regulatory capital standards as a means of ensuring that banks hold adequate capital. The risk-based capital standards, from the 1988 Accord through the current Basel II standards, have primarily relied upon a...

This study investigates the effectiveness of a newly developed personal financial management course at Indiana State University. Analysis of pre- and post-test data suggests that students enrolled in the course score higher on knowledge exams and exhibit more desirable financial behaviors at the...

This study attempts to find out whether investors reward firms that carry no debt and penalize firms that carry large amount of debt during recessions. I compare the performance of portfolios of large cap debt free firms to comparable portfolios of leveraged firms during the last recession. The...

We offer a novel explanation of underwriting volatility in property-liability insurance markets in terms of private uncertainty over public regulatory policy. Underwriting involving random losses to policyholders is one source of risk to the equity value of insurance firms. Solvency regulations,...

Consumer debt delinquency, as measured by being 60 or more days late in debt payment, is an indicator of financial ill health. Using six datasets of the 1992-2007 U.S. Surveys of Consumer Finances, this study examines consumer debt delinquency over life cycle stages. Inspired by previous...

This study uses a combined measure of financial literacy or financial knowledge that includes both a test score of actual financial knowledge and a self-assessment of overall financial knowledge. The combined measure provides greater understanding about how financial knowledge affects financial...

The paper looks at the changes in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation assessment process since the passage of the Dodd-Frank legislation. It outlines some of the changes made to the insurance premium rates as well as the calculation of the deposit assessment base, and examines how the...

This paper develops a simple macroeconomic model of systemic risk in the form of financial accelerator effects: adverse developments in financial markets and in the real economy mutually reinforce each other and lead to a feedback cycle of falling asset prices, deteriorating balance sheets and...

In the U.S., women tend to have lower levels of financial literacy than men. This is consistent with a household division of labor in which men manage finances. However, women also tend to outlive their husbands, so they will eventually need to take over this task. Using a new survey of older...