You will research an issue relating to money and banking. You will write an eight- to 10-page paper discussing your research, in depth. You will also need to relate your research to current events. Your topic should be approved by your instructor.
You will also be asked to present the information you obtained in your research for your paper. After this presentation, you will receive feedback from peers and your instructor. Your final paper will need to include revisions based on this feedback.
Suggested topics are:-
1. Analysis of Financial Reform Proposals
2. Causes and Consequences of The Financial Crisis
3. Federal Reserve “Independence” – Historical foundations and recent proposals
4. Consequences of the Demise of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933
5. Cashless Society: Possibilities and Consequences
6. Relative Strength of U.S. Capital Markets
7. Trends and Implications of U.S. Banking Consolidation; Trends and Implications of Global banking Consolidation
8. Causes and Consequences of the “Too Big to Fail” Policy
9. Branch banking: Slow death or necessary competitive tool?
10. What’s Next for Banking Regulation? (Could also look at global banking regulation like Basel 2)
11. The Taylor Rule: A Guidepost for Monetary Policy?
12. Historical Analysis of Monetary Policy Tools and Targets (could also look at relative impact of leadership styles of different Fed chairs, or changes in “transparency” at the Fed)
13. Monetary Policy: Should we use Inflation Targeting?
14. The Fed''s Policy Response to the Current Crisis (could compare to 1980s or 1930s)
15. The Fed''s Policy Response to the Current Crisis – What’s next? (Will we see inflation and how would Fed respond?)
16. Historical Analysis of the Role of the Dollar in International Finance
17. Activist Monetary Policy: Good or Bad? (Could include different “theoretical” perspectives – like Keynesian vs. New Classical approach)
18. The Risk of U.S. Deflation
19. Global Deposit Insurance – A Good Thing?