This paper reviews the cost-benefit analysis, or “regulatory impact analysis” (RIA), in US bank regulators’ risk-based capital (RBC) rule proposals. We review the principles of cost-benefit analysis and its application by US bank regulators. We provide a brief background on RBC rules and...

This paper reviews the cost-benefit analysis, or 'regulatory impact analysis' (RIA), in US bank regulators' risk-based capital (RBC) rule proposals. We review the principles of cost-benefit analysis and its application by US bank regulators. We provide a brief background on RBC rules and review...

US banks are thought to have become increasingly fragile and exposed during the lead-up to the recent financial crisis. However, commercial bank leverage actually decreased during this period. To resolve this discrepancy, we explore another dimension of bank balance sheets: the effective...

The recent proliferation of bitcoin has been a boon for users but might pose problems for governments. Indeed, some governments have already taken steps to ban or discourage the use of bitcoin. In a model with endogenous matching and random consumption preferences, we find multiple monetary...

How has the impact of wars affected our historical understanding of U.S. economic performance? While most economists believe the Federal Reserve has improved performance, the existing literature fails to account for exogenous shocks such as periods of war. This paper compares U.S. economic...

This paper considers potential alternatives to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) system of deposit insurance in the United States. We review the international and historical literature on deposit insurance which finds higher government involvement in the deposit insurance system...

Most people believe the benefits of deposit insurance provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) clearly exceed the costs. However, a growing literature suggests the benefits of FDIC insurance are overstated while the costs are understated. We add to this literature by...

Recent changes in U.S. banking regulation have emphasized risk-based capital (RBC) as an indicator of bank soundness. This paper compares the RBC ratio to the standard capital ratio of equity over assets. We regress the capital and RBC ratios of bank holding companies from 1999 through 2010...