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Daily Archives: April 7, 2015

Congress and the Federal Reserve: Independence and accountability

Congress and the Federal Reserve: Independence and accountability. Sarah Binder, George Washington University, Brookings Institution; Mark Spindel, Potomac River Capital, LLC. Forthcoming in Jenkins, Jeffrey and Eric Patashnik, Eds. Congress and Policy Making in the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press). Draft February 2015.
“The recent global financial crisis reveals limits of central bank independence. In the U.S., Europe, and Japan, politicians have replaced central bank governors, revamped their lending powers, and imposed greater transparency. Such legislative action challenges the assumed importance of central bank autonomy. In this chapter, we focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve, exploring the tradeoff between central bank independence and democratic accountability. We offer a framework for understanding how lawmakers influence monetary policy given expectations (even within the limits) of central bank independence, and track congressional attention to the Fed in the postwar era. We pay special attention to Congress’s reactions to the Fed in the current era of partisan polarization, a period in which the Fed first lowered interest rates to zero and then, in an effort to ease monetary policy further, adopted a series of unconventional lending and asset purchase programs. We conclude that Congress’s reactions to the Fed’s unconventional toolkit—especially at the zero bound–helped to bring democratic values to bear on the making of monetary policy.”

Amnesty International Report on Afghan Women At Risk

“Women human rights defenders in Afghanistan who face mounting violence – including threats, sexual assault and assassinations- are being abandoned by their own government despite the significant gains they have fought to achieve, Amnesty International said in a new report today. Their Lives On The Line documents how champions for the rights of women and… Continue Reading

Report – Analyzing the Response to the Marathon Bombings two Years Later

On April 15, 2013, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnev set off two explosives near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The explosions resulted in three fatalities and over 250 injured. Three days later, the FBI identified the Tsarnevs as suspects and released their photos to the press. When the brothers were confronted by the… Continue Reading

A Deep Dive Into Party Affiliation

Pew Report – “Democrats hold advantages in party identification among blacks, Asians, Hispanics, well-educated adults and Millennials. Republicans have leads among whites – particularly white men, those with less education and evangelical Protestants – as well as members of the Silent Generation. A new analysis of long-term trends in party affiliation among the public provides… Continue Reading

The European Union: a guide to terminology, procedures and sources

“The European Union: a guide to terminology, procedures and sources – House of Commons Background Paper – Commons Library Standard Note Published 21 January 2014 | Standard notes SN03689 Amended 08 December 2014 Authors: Emma Clark, Vaughne Miller. This Note aims to clarify some of the terminology used to describe the institutions, laws and procedures of the European… Continue Reading

Difference Blindness vs. Bias Awareness: Why Law Firms with the Best of Intentions Have Failed to Create Diverse Partnerships

Pearce, Russell G. and Wald, Eli and Ballakrishnen, Swethaa, Difference Blindness vs. Bias Awareness: Why Law Firms with the Best of Intentions Have Failed to Create Diverse Partnerships (April 7, 2015). Fordham Law Review, Vol. 83, No. 2407, 2015; U Denver Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-08; Fordham Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2591478.… Continue Reading

DuckDuckGo announces how to find parking, search for online course, check UV risk factors

“DuckDuckGo friends, We’re proud to announce that we’ve made our 2015 open source donations to five projects chosen by the staff and community. $125,000 was distributed between SecureDrop, PrivacyBadger, GPG Tools, Tails, and Girl Develop It. To read more on that, check out: https://duck.co/blog/donations_2015 . This past month, we released many new Instant Answers developed… Continue Reading

Digitally Connected: Global Perspectives on Youth and Digital Media

“The Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Youth and Media are excited to announce the release of the new ebook “Digitally Connected: Global Perspectives on Youth and Digital Media,” a first-of-its kind collection of essays that offers reflections from diverse perspectives on youth experiences with digital media and with focus on the Global South.… Continue Reading

Hearts Continue to Bleed – Heartbleed One Year Late

Venafi Labs Analysis: Hearts Continue to Bleed Heartbleed One Year Later – Vast Majority of Global 2000 Organizations Remain Vulnerable to Cyberattacks Executive Summary – “Using the recently released Venafi TrustNet certificate reputation service, the Venafi Labs team re-evaluated SSL/TLS vulnerabilities in Q1 2015 and found that most Global 2000 organizations have failed to completely… Continue Reading

Census Bureau Releases Updated Tables on Fertility

“The U.S. Census Bureau released new tables and figures today using the 2014 Current Population Survey’s Fertility Supplement, which includes fertility and relationship data for women age 15 to 50. The tables include information on children ever born, rates of childlessness, and relationship status at first birth for women with selected demographic characteristics. In addition,… Continue Reading