SEC tango with Stock Market
by phil on Wednesday Sep 24, 2003 1:58 PM
Idea Archive
So Sue Me
What's the best way to punish corporate criminals? With lawsuits, not prison sentences.
By Daniel Gross
Excerpt...
As for cops at the SEC, they may talk tough and hold flashy press conferences when they nab insider traders. But in the global scheme of things, they may not be so important. "When we try to understand specifically what works in securities laws, we find that several aspects of public enforcement, such as having an independent and/or focused regulator or criminal sanctions, do not matter, and others matter in only some regressions." In other words, "Public enforcement plays, at best, a modest role in the development of stock markets."
