Office of the Chief Economist

The Office of the Chief Economist was created in 2013 to conduct research and analysis in support of FINRA’s rulemaking and policy agendas. The Office works closely with the Office of General Counsel and other departments in order to assess the economic implications of policies and programs in new and existing rulemaking. In order to advance that effort, the Office is responsible for gathering and analyzing data on securities firms and markets.

The Office of the Chief Economist works to achieve its objective through a variety of activities. These include conducting sophisticated economic and statistical analyses related to FINRA’s mission, working with outside experts in academia and industry to enhance FINRA’s foundation of knowledge, conducting special studies and evaluations, and participating in in-house training of staff on matters related to financial markets, market microstructure, and financial intermediation.

The Office of the Chief Economist also works collaboratively with a range of departments across FINRA to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of FINRA’s regulatory and investor education programs.

Call for Papers

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation, FINRA’s Office of the Chief Economist, and NORC at the University of Chicago have issued a call for papers on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the capital markets. Submissions are due August 2 for a convening to be held on October 22, 2021.

• Access and Impact: Gauging the Participation of Diverse Communities in the Capital Markets (Due: August 2, 2021)

Reports

• Framework Regarding FINRA's Approach to Economic Impact Assessment for Proposed Rulemaking

Retrospective Rule Review

• Communications with the Public Report
• Gifts, Gratuities and Non-Cash Compensation Report
• Membership Application Rules and Processes Report
• Outside Business Activities and Private Securities Transactions: Request for Comment
• Payments for Market Making Rule: Request for Comment

Working Papers

Office of the Chief Economist working papers present findings of staff research and analysis in support of FINRA's rulemaking and policy agendas. The views expressed in the working papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of FINRA or of the authors' FINRA staff colleagues.

• Institutional Order Handling and Broker-Affiliated Trading Venues (January 2019)
  • Working Paper (Updated: February 22, 2019) (PDF 1.1 MB)
  • Non-technical Summary (PDF 330 KB)
• Do Investors Have Valuable Information About Brokers? (August 2015)
  • Working Paper  (PDF 1.01 MB)
  • Non-technical Summary  (PDF 66.86 KB)

Research Notes

Office of the Chief Economist research notes are concise analyses intended to stimulate and augment timely policy debates related to FINRA’s mission.

• Analysis of Securitized Asset Liquidity
   (June 2017) (PDF 481 KB)
• Analysis of Corporate Bond Liquidity  (December 2015) (PDF 701 KB)

News Releases

• FINRA Issues Research on Securitized-Asset Liquidity (6/8/17)
• Corporate Bond Liquidity Healthy by Most Measures: FINRA Research (12/10/15)
• FINRA Issues Public Statement, Framework Regarding FINRA's Approach to Economic Impact Assessment for Proposed Rulemaking (9/19/13)
• Jonathan S. Sokobin Named FINRA's Chief Economist (4/30/13)