The primary motivation for retirement savings policy is the view that many of us, if left to our own devices, will not save enough for retirement. Special tax subsidies for employer-sponsored retirement plans — a principal component of the federal policy scheme — have made such plans the...

We develop an equilibrium theory of employer-sponsored retirement plan design using a behavioral contract theory approach. The operation of the labor market results in retirement plans that generally cater to, rather than correct, workers' mistakes. Our theory provides new explanations for a...

This Essay is a brief response to the stimulating essays on cost-benefit analysis of financial regulation by Professors Coates and Cox in this volume. Both Coates and Cox largely agree that we want policy decisions about financial regulation to be made using what Coates refers to as...

The myriad problems with the Dodd-Frank Act's ban on proprietary trading by banks have led to a rare bipartisan consensus: the Volcker Rule must be pared back or even repealed. At the root of the Rule's problems is the fundamental definitional challenge posed by the current approach. The...