June 2010: Workshop on "Behavioral and Situational Analysis of the Financial Sector"

In the wake of the financial crisis, it became clear that existing models of the financial system were not only mistaken, but lacking real-world perspective and empirical foundation. Confronting these deficiencies, the Tobin Project supported a workshop in June, entitled "Behavioral and Institutional Research and Financial Regulation," to forge a better understanding of our financial system and develop innovative social-science based frameworks that illuminate its workings.

Building on an earlier Tobin-sponsored workshop, Annelise Riles (Cornell University, Law and Sociology) and Tom Baker (University of Pennsylvania Law School) led conversation among an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners, including Eric Stein (Treasury) and Susan Wachter (former head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland), and officials from the National Economic Council, the Bank of Japan, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The Tobin Project continues this effort to foster better and more realistic social science research on regulation, an effort that is potentially capable of exposing (and helping us make sense of) the complex interactions between regulators, industry, and the individuals, firms, and agencies that they influence.