Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: November 20, 2014

IMF announces all online data free of charge effective January 1, 2015

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, IMF “…Finally, let me turn to another very important aspect of the IMF’s statistical work—data publication. We very much recognize the importance of data as a public good. In this context, we are upgrading our data platforms and improving the way we distribute data and statistics to our membership throughout the world. Think of the One African Data Hub that the IMF has recently launched in collaboration with the African Development Bank. This is a “cloud-based” data reporting tool that makes it less onerous for reporters to provide economic data, and much easier for users to share data. Much of our data is already freely available. This is especially true of the data that supports our main forecasts for the global economy in the World Economic Outlook. And I have an important announcement to make—starting January 1, 2015 we will provide all our online data free-of-charge to everyone. This will help all those who draw on our data make better use of this vital statistical resource—from budget numbers to balance of payments data, debt statistics to critical global indicators. The IMF will continue to be a vital source of public information that is needed to underpin sound policy decisions.”

The Transmission of Liquidity Shocks

IMF – The Transmission of Liquidity Shocks: The Role of Internal Capital Markets and Bank Funding Strategies, Philippe D Karam; Ouarda Merrouche; Moez Souissi; Rima Turk. November 19, 2014. “We analyze the transmission of bank-specific liquidity shocks triggered by a credit rating downgrade through the lending channel. Using bank-level data for US Bank Holding Companies, we find that… Continue Reading

Subcommittee Finds Wall Street Commodities Actions Add Risk To Economy, Businesses, Consumers

News release: “Wall Street banks have become heavily involved with physical commodities markets, increasing risks to financial stability, industry, consumers and markets, a two-year investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has found. The investigation’s findings, contained in a 396-page bipartisan report, add important new details to the public debate about the breakdown of the… Continue Reading

The Tightening Web of Russian Internet Regulation

Tselikov, Andrey, The Tightening Web of Russian Internet Regulation (November 20, 2014). Berkman Center Research Publication No. 2014-15. Available for download at SSRN: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2527603 “Over the past two years, systematic Internet regulation has increased more in Russia than anywhere else in the world. A series of progressively more restrictive legislative developments between the summer of 2012… Continue Reading

WSJ – How Paperbacks Helped the U.S. Win World War II

Jennifer Maloney – “A decade after the Nazis’ 1933 book burnings, the U.S. War Department and the publishing industry did the opposite, printing 120 million miniature, lightweight paperbacks for U.S. troops to carry in their pockets across Europe, North Africa and the Pacific. The books were Armed Services Editions, printed by a coalition of publishers with… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Bank Capital Reforms, Climate Change, FSOC, Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier, Small Business Innovation Research

Bank Capital Reforms: Initial Effects of Basel III on Capital, Credit, and International Competitiveness, GAO-15-67: Published: Nov 20, 2014. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2014. Building Partner Capacity: State and DOD Need to Define Time Frames to Guide and Track Global Security Contingency Fund Projects, GAO-15-75: Published: Nov 20, 2014. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2014. Climate Change: Better… Continue Reading

Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2015 to 2024

“The Congress faces an array of policy choices as it confronts the prospect of large annual budget deficits and further increases in the already-large government debt that are projected to occur in coming decades under current law. To help inform lawmakers about the budgetary implications of changing federal policies, CBO periodically issues volumes of policy… Continue Reading

Urban Water Blueprint

Mapping conservation solutions to the global water challenge – The Nature Conservancy “This report addresses a critical issue facing mayors in cities around the world: access to clean and adequate water supplies. The growth of urban populations, coupled with incidences of sudden climate stress and long-term land degradation of drinking watersheds, pose increasing risks to… Continue Reading