In a recent address before the Center for the Study of Financial Regulation at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, SEC Commissioner Michael S. Piwowar urged academics to engage more actively in policy debates over securities regulation. Commissioner Piwowar is particularly interested in “data-driven” input from academics in connection with potential reforms to the structure of the U.S. securities markets. The Commission recently finalized the composition of a Market Structure Advisory Committee that will focus on the structure and operations of the U.S. equities markets and will function as a forum and resource for reviewing specific, clearly articulated initiatives or rule proposals. Piwowar sees the Committee’s work as a prime opportunity for academics studying the securities markets to provide real input and make their voices heard.

Why, after throwing everything bar the kitchen sink at the economy over the past few years, has the economy started to grow only now? Even more importantly, will the recovery last? Having seen a few false dawns over recent years, has the recovery really taken hold this time? And what does all this mean for monetary policy?

Last month in an address before the  Confederation of British Industry (CBI) East of England Midwinter Lunch, Spencer Dale, Executive Director for Monetary Policy and Chief Economist at the Bank of England, touched on three questions about the economic recovery that we would all like to have answered: "why now, will it last, and what next for policy?"