Article

Blockchain governance

January 2019
International Journal of Critical Infrastructures 15(2):121 - 135

DOI:10.1504/IJCIS.2019.10018970

Authors:

Old Dominion University

Blockchain is probably best known as a technology that underpins bitcoin cryptocurrency, taking records (e.g., confirmed financial transactions) and placing them into ‘blocks’, which are linked to prior blocks – forming a chronological ‘chain’ of blocks. However, bitcoin blockchain is only one instantiation of blockchain technology and there exist a few qualitative analyses addressing instantiations of blockchain technology. The aim of this study was two-fold: 1) to understand the difference between bitcoin and blockchain; 2) to delineate the need (and role) of governance in blockchain technology. First, fundamental relationships (and differences) between bitcoin and blockchain are presented. Second, drawing on societal blockchain technology concerns, a key element (i.e., governance) and its role in shaping blockchain technology is suggested. This research concludes with possible areas of research (and research questions) that can enable realisation of blockchain governance along the areas philosophical, theoretical, axiological, methodological, axiomatic, method and application dimensions.

Investigating the Decentralized Governance of Distributed Ledger Infrastructure Implementation in Extended Enterprises

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2022

Bokolo Anthony Jnr.

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is a disruptive technology with the potential of improving Extended Enterprise (EE) which comprises of organizations that combine their capabilities and knowhow to achieve a common goal. Within the extended enterprise governance enables distributed ledger control, stewardship, and provides effective ways for enforcing ledger access and ownership policies. Although research related to DLT has received attention from academics and industries, the decentralized governance perspective of DLT remains less explored and it is uncertain how decisions are made concerning the deployment of DLT within EE. These call for governance policies to protect the interests and needs of all stakeholders within the extended enterprise. Therefore, there is need for research that provides insight regarding the decentralized governance of DLT, showing how stakeholders and actors within EE make informed decisions. Accordingly, grounded on academic literature, this study develops governance of DLT framework for extended enterprises which comprises of DLT governance dimensions, stakeholder/actors, and DLT governance mechanisms. The findings also present the governance actors and categories of DLTs, potentials, and challenges regarding decentralized governance of DLT in extended enterprises. Findings provides implications to enterprises, researchers, practitioners, industries, and policy makers on the concept of decentralized governance for organizational transformation. Finally, findings from this research are instrumental for designing governance policies to support DLT implementation and stimulate potential research within this direction.

A Systematic Literature Review on Blockchain Governance

Article

Jan 2021

Defining Blockchain Governance Principles: A Comprehensive Framework

Preprint

Oct 2021

Blockchain eliminates the need for trusted third party intermediaries in business by enabling decentralised architecture in software applications. However, vulnerabilities in on-chain autonomous decision-making and cumbersome off-chain coordination have led to serious concerns about blockchain's ability to behave and make decisions in a trustworthy and efficient way. Blockchain governance has received considerable attention to support the decision-making process during the use and evolution of blockchain. Nevertheless, conventional governance frameworks are not applicable to blockchain due to its inherent distributed architecture and decentralised decision process, which leads to the absence of clear source of authority. Currently, there is a lack of systematic guidance on how blockchain governance can be implemented. Therefore, in this paper, we present a comprehensive blockchain governance framework that elucidates an integrated view of the degree of decentralisation, decision rights, incentives, accountability, ecosystem, and legal and ethical responsibilities. The proposed framework is evaluated using four well-known blockchain platforms in terms of feasibility, applicability, and usability.

A Systematic Literature Review on Blockchain Governance

Preprint

May 2021

Blockchain has been increasingly used as a software component to enable decentralisation in software architecture for a variety of applications. Blockchain governance has received considerable attention to ensure the safe and appropriate use and evolution of blockchain, especially after the Ethereum DAO attack in 2016. To understand the state-of-the-art of blockchain governance and provide an actionable guidance for academia and practitioners, in this paper, we conduct a systematic literature review, identifying 34 primary studies. Our study comprehensively investigates blockchain governance via 5W1H questions. The study results reveal several major findings: 1) the adaptation and upgrade of blockchain are the primary purposes of blockchain governance, while both software quality attributes and human value attributes need to be increasingly considered; 2) blockchain governance mainly relies on the project team, node operators, and users of a blockchain platform; and 3) existing governance solutions can be classified into process mechanisms and product mechanisms, which mainly focus on the operation phase over the blockchain platform layer.

Defining blockchain governance principles: A comprehensive framework

Article

Jun 2022
INFORM SYST

Blockchain eliminates the need for trusted third-party intermediaries in business by enabling decentralised architecture design in software applications. However, the vulnerabilities in on-chain autonomous decision-makings and cumbersome off-chain coordination lead to serious concerns about blockchain’s ability to behave in a trustworthy and efficient way. Blockchain governance has received considerable attention to support the decision-making process during the use and evolution of blockchain. Nevertheless, the conventional governance frameworks do not apply to blockchain due to its distributed architecture and decentralised decision process. These inherent features lead to the absence of a clear source of authority in blockchain ecosystem. Currently, there is a lack of systematic guidance on the governance of blockchain. Therefore, in this paper, we present a comprehensive blockchain governance framework, which elucidates an integrated view of the degree of decentralisation, decision rights, incentives, accountability, ecosystem, and legal and ethical responsibilities. The above aspects are formulated as six high-level principles for blockchain governance. We demonstrate a qualitative analysis of the proposed framework, including case studies on five extant blockchain platforms, and comparison with existing blockchain governance frameworks. The results show that our proposed framework is feasible and applicable in a real-world context.

A Pattern Collection for Blockchain Governance

Preprint

Mar 2022

Blockchain technology has been exploited to build next-generation applications with its decentralised nature. However, serious concerns are raised about the trustworthiness of the blockchain due to the virtue of the vulnerabilities in on-chain algorithmic mechanisms and tedious debates in the off-chain community. Accordingly, the governance of blockchain has received great attention recently to enhance the trustworthiness of all decisions directing a blockchain platform. This research domain is still immature, however, and there is a lack of systematic knowledge to guide the practitioners on how to design and implement governance methods for blockchain. Therefore, we have performed an SLR to understand the state-of-art in this topic, and extractd 14 governance patterns regarding the four layers (i.e., data, platform, application, and community) of blockchain ecosystem. To effectively use the discovered patterns, we demonstrate lifecycle stages of these four layers and involved stakeholders in blockchain ecosystem, as a guidance for effective use of the patterns, which has yet to be presented and introduced in existing works of this topic.

Blockchain in oil and gas industry: Applications, challenges, and future trends

Article

Feb 2022
Tech Soc

Today's systems, approaches, and technologies leveraged for managing oil and gas supply chain operations fall short of providing operational transparency, traceability, audit, security, and trusted data provenance features. Also, a large portion of the existing systems are centralized, manual, and highly disintegrated, which make them vulnerable to manipulation and the single point of failure problem. In this survey, we explore the potential opportunities and applications of blockchain technology in managing the exploration, production, and supply chain and logistics operations in the oil and gas industry as it can offer traceability, immutability, transparency, and audit features in a decentralized, trusted, and secure manner. We discuss state-of-the-art blockchain-based schemes, research projects, business initiatives, and case studies to highlight the practicability of blockchain in the oil and gas industry. We present the potential opportunities brought about by blockchain technology in various use cases and application scenarios. We present several systems that use blockchain-based smart contracts to automate critical services such as petroleum product tracking and tracing, international trade document protection, and coordination of purchasing and bidding activities for granting oil exploration rights to petroleum exploration and development companies. Finally, we present open challenges acting as future research directions.

Blockchain-enabled supply chain: analysis, challenges, and future directions

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2021
MULTIMEDIA SYST

Managing the integrity of products and processes in a multi-stakeholder supply chain environment is a significant challenge. Many current solutions suffer from data fragmentation, lack of reliable provenance, and diverse protocol regulations across multiple distributions and processes. Amongst other solutions, Blockchain has emerged as a leading technology, since it provides secure traceability and control, immutability, and trust creation among stakeholders in a low cost IT solution. Although Blockchain is making a significant impact in many areas, there are many impediments to its widespread adoption in supply chains. This article is the first survey of its kind, with detailed analysis of the challenges and future directions in Blockchain-enabled supply chains. We review the existing digitalization of the supply chain including the role of GS1 standards and technologies. Current use cases and startups in the field of Blockchain-enabled supply chains are reviewed and presented in tabulated form. Technical and non-technical challenges in the adoption of Blockchain for supply chain applications are critically analyzed, along with the suitability of various consensus algorithms for applications in the supply chain. The tools and technologies in the Blockchain ecosystem are depicted and analyzed. Some key areas as future research directions are also identified which must be addressed to realize mass adoption of Blockchain-based in supply chain traceability. Finally, we propose MOHBSChain, a novel framework for Blockchain-enabled supply chains.

Critical Space Infrastructures: Risk, Resilience and Complexity

Book

Jan 2019

This book introduces readers to the topical area of CSI: critical space infrastructure, which is defined as an emerging domain of systems-of-systems encompassing hardware, workforce, environment, facilities, business and organizational entities. Further, it includes unmanned air systems, satellites, rockets, space probes, and orbital stations, and involves multi-directional interactions essential for maintenance of vital societal functions (i.e., health, safety, economic and social well-being), the loss or disruption of which would have significant impact on virtually any nation. The topics covered include the main elements of CSI, CSI taxonomy, effects of CSI on other infrastructure systems, establishing quantitative and qualitative parameters, global and national effects of CSI failure, cascading disruptive phenomena, chilling effects in various fields, CSI protection, deliberate threats to space systems (e.g., electromagnetic pulse attacks), space governance, and a path forward for CSI research. Modern society is highly dependent on the continuous operation of critical infrastructure systems for the supply of crucial goods and services including, among others, the power supply, drinking water supply, and transportation systems; yet space systems – which are critical enablers for several commercial, scientific and military applications – are rarely discussed. This book addresses this gap.

Towards digital engineering: the advent of digital systems engineering

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Full-text available

Jan 2020

Towards Digital Engineering -- The Advent of Digital Systems Engineering

Article

Jan 2020

Digital Engineering, the digital transformation of engineering to leverage digital technologies, is coming globally. This paper explores digital systems engineering, which aims at developing theory, methods, models, and tools to support the emerging digital engineering. A critical task is to digitalize engineering artifacts, thus enabling information sharing across platform, across life cycle, and across domains. We identify significant challenges and enabling digital technologies; analyze the transition from traditional engineering to digital engineering; define core concepts, including "digitalization", "unique identification", "digitalized artifacts", "digital augmentation", and others; present a big picture of digital systems engineering in four levels: vision, strategy, action, and foundation; briefly discuss each of main areas of research issues. Digitalization enables fast infusing and leveraging novel digital technologies; unique identification enables information traceability and accountability in engineering lifecycle; provenance enables tracing dependency relations among engineering artifacts; supporting model reproducibility and replicability; helping with trustworthiness evaluation of digital engineering artifacts.

Towards Digital Engineering -- The Advent of Digital Systems Engineering

Preprint

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Feb 2020

On the Architecture of Systemology and the Typology of Its Principles

Article

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Mar 2018

David Rousseau

Systems engineering is increasingly challenged by the rising complexity of projects undertaken, resulting in increases in costs, failure rates, and negative unintended consequences. This has resulted in calls for more scientific principles to underpin the methods of systems engineering. In this paper, it is argued that our ability to improve systems Engineering’s methods depends on making the principles of systemology, of which systems engineering is a part, more diverse and more scientific. An architecture for systemology is introduced, which shows how the principles of systemology arise from interdependent processes spanning multiple disciplinary fields, and on this basis a typology is introduced, which can be used to classify systems principles and systems methods. This framework, consisting of an architecture and a typology, can be used to survey and classify the principles and methods currently in use in systemology, map vocabularies referring to them, identify key gaps, and expose opportunities for further development. It may, thus, serve as a tool for coordinating collaborative work towards advancing the scope and depth of systemology.

Systems theory as a foundation for governance of complex systems

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2015

The broad set of propositions identified in systems literaturecirca 1900-2000s) provides an adequate, largely comprehensive subset of the complete set of all systems theory propositions. Discoverers' induction can then be applied to integrate common ideas among propositions in order to produce a set of generalised lawsaxioms). A proposal for a systems theory construct resting on an axiomatic set supported by unified systems theory propositions was presented by Adams et al.2014). This paper refines the work of Adams et al. using discoverer's induction and further describes the axioms provided and their role in complex systems.

Conceptualizing Security Governance

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2003
COOP CONFL

Elke Krahmann

This article examines the changing transatlantic security architecture since the end of the Cold War. It argues that the absence of a unifying military threat and the subsequent broadening of the notion of security from states to societies has led to the increasing differentiation of security policy arrangements since the beginning of the 1990s. Not only have international institutions proliferated since the end of bipolarity, private actors — such as non-governmental organizations and private security companies — have gained considerable influence. Since these features are not fully grasped by traditional models in security studies, the article suggests that a new theoretical perspective might be required if we are to understand the emerging security system. It proposes that such a perspective can be based on the concept of `security governance', which describes the development from the centralized security system of the Cold War era to the increasingly fragmented and complex security structures of today.

Systems of systems engineering: Prospects and challenges for the emerging field

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2011
Int J Syst Syst Eng

System of systems engineering (SoSE) is a field that remains in the embryonic stages of development. The work presented in this volume provides a methodological approach, grounded in foundations of systems theory, to perform SoSE. However, further development of the field must be predicated on understanding critical distinctions emerging and bring focus to the challenges and prospects for further development. The purpose of this paper is to develop a perspective of the state of the SoSE field and identify challenges for future evolution. To achieve this purpose, the paper is organised to explore four primary areas. First, the literature is reviewed to provide an account of the current state of the field. Second, an organising framework is presented to structure understanding of field development. Third, a set of challenges to forward movement of the field is offered. Fourth, the paper concludes with reflections on the SoSE methodology presented in this volume and implications for further development of the SoSE field.

Studying Governance and Public Management: Challenges and Prospects

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2000

How can public-sector regimes, agencies, programs, and activities be organized and managed to achieve public purposes? This question, of fundamental importance in the fields of politics, policy implementation, public administration, and public management, motivates the systematic study of governance. In this article, we present a logic of governance, based in political economy literatures, that might be used as a first step toward framing theory-based governance research. We also describe a methodological approach that is more likely to appropriately identify and explain relationships in governance regimes that involve activities and interactions that span more than one level of an organization or systemic structure. In addition, we explore the potential of various sources of data for governance research, recognizing that governance researchers will inevitably have to make simplifying assumptions or measure crudely things that we know are much more complex. We argue that when appropriately framed and interpreted through a logic of governance that acknowledges limitations attributable to the models, methods, and data employed, governance research is more likely to produce enduring knowledge about how, why, and with what consequences public-sector activity is structured and managed.

Governance and Metagovernance: On Reflexivity, Requisite Variety, and Requisite Irony1

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2002

Bob Jessop

Corporate Governance, Accountability and Mechanisms of Accountability: An Overview

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2008
Account Audit Account J

Purpose This paper aims to review traditional corporate governance and accountability research, to suggest opportunities for future research in this field. Design/methodology/approach The first part adopts an analytical frame of reference based on theory, accountability mechanisms, methodology, business sector/context, globalisation and time horizon. The second part of the paper locates the seven papers in the special issue in a framework of analysis showing how each one contributes to the field. The paper presents a frame of reference which may be used as a “roadmap” for researchers to navigate their way through the prior literature and to position their work on the frontiers of corporate governance research. The paper is primarily discursive and conceptual. Findings The paper encourages broader approaches to corporate governance and accountability research beyond the traditional and primarily quantitative approaches of prior research. Broader theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, accountability mechanism, sectors/contexts, globalisation, and time horizons are identified. Research limitations/implications Greater use of qualitative research methods are suggested, which present challenges particularly of access to the “black box” of corporate boardrooms. Originality/value Drawing on the analytical framework, and the papers in the special issue, the paper identifies opportunities for further research of accountability and corporate governance.

Collaborative Governance in Theory

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2008

Over the past few decades, a new form of governance has emerged to replace adversarial and managerial modes of policy making and implementation. Collaborative governance, as it has come to be known, brings public and private stakeholders together in collective forums with public agencies to engage in consensus-oriented decision making. In this article, we conduct a meta-analytical study of the existing literature on collaborative governance with the goal of elaborating a contingency model of collaborative governance. After reviewing 137 cases of collaborative governance across a range of policy sectors, we identify critical variables that will influence whether or not this mode of governance will produce successful collaboration. These variables include the prior history of conflict or cooperation, the incentives for stakeholders to participate, power and resources imbalances, leadership, and institutional design. We also identify a series of factors that are crucial within the collaborative process itself. These factors include face-to-face dialogue, trust building, and the development of commitment and shared understanding. We found that a virtuous cycle of collaboration tends to develop when collaborative forums focus on “small wins” that deepen trust, commitment, and shared understanding. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of our contingency model for practitioners and for future research on collaborative governance.

Societal Governance: Levels, Modes, and Orders of Social–Political Interaction

Chapter

Feb 2000

Jan Kooiman

Leading scholars in the field of governance examine the effectiveness of the different non-institutional strategies at the disposal of modern governments in tackling issues of urban decline, public administrations, governmental regionalization, budget deficits and global economics. The governance approach to political science yields a new perspective on the role of the state, domestically as well as in the international arena. Globalization, internationalization, and the growing influence of networks in domestic politics means that the notions of state strength and the role of the state in society must be re-examined.

Cyber-Physical Systems Governance: A Framework for (Meta)CyberSecurity Design: Innovative Perspectives on Complex Problems

Chapter

Jul 2018

This chapter discusses a framework for improving security of cyber-physical systems through purposeful design, execution, and evolution of metasystem functions. State actors (i.e., government agencies), non-state actors (i.e., for-profit and non-profit organizations), and their systems operate under highly emergent and complex conditions. Under these conditions, system performance is not always deducible from the constituent systems. Moreover, such systems are often interdependent and dynamically interacting with other systems such that the state of each system is influenced by and is influencing states of the interconnected systems. In these conditions, leaving a system to develop through processes of ‘accretion’ (ad hoc evolution of a system) or ‘self-organization’ (totally unconstrained evolution of a system) might increase the probability of missing performance expectations. In contrast, ‘purposeful design’ is an invitation for a more determined engagement in system development to increase the probability of producing expected and desired performance. In this chapter, emerging research in Complex System Governance (CSG) is suggested as an emerging field to direct more purposeful design for systems. Specifically, a CSG enabled framework for security design focused on Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) is provided. The framework, grounded in Systems Theory and Management Cybernetics, emphasizes more holistic design for integration, coordination, communication, and control for development of CPS.

Blockchain: Data Malls, Coin Economies, and Keyless Payments

Article

Jun 2018

Systems theory-based construct for identifying metasystem pathologies for complex system governance

Thesis

Aug 2015

Polinpapilinho F. Katina

Modelling the 2008 financial economic crisis: Triggers, perspectives and implications from systems dynamics

Article

Jan 2015

This paper presents a model of the interrelated systems that played a role in the 2008 economic crisis. The analysis was based on some detailed modelling of the banking, real-estate and stock market components of the financial system. The purpose of the study was to understand the interactions among multiple independent systems and also to draw preliminary predictions and policy recommendations that can help to increase the rate of recovery and prevent similar crises in the future. The model uses a 2000–2020 time horizon. Following model development, a systems dynamics (SD) simulation was performed to validate: 1) market recovery date using average US saving rates of the past 30 years; 2) determine effects of policy changes that made bankruptcy declarations more difficult; 3) report on the interest only loans and different 'what-if' scenarios. Actionable insights supporting utility of the model is provided along with future research directions are provided.

Systems Theory as a Foundation for Discovery of Pathologies for Complex System Problem Formulation

Chapter

Sep 2016

Polinpapilinho F. Katina

This chapter articulates a set of systems theory-based pathologies that act to limit performance of complex systems. In response to the common mantra that problem formulation is the most important activity in successfully dealing with complex system problems, this research elaborates on the utility of systems theory as the basis for problem formulation through the discovery of system pathologies. Pathologies are taken as circumstances that act to limit system performance or lessen system viability (continued existence) and as such they reduce the likelihood of a system meeting performance expectations. As an extension of contemporary developments in systems theory, this chapter is focused on three primary objectives. First, systems theory is examined to generate a comprehensive set of 45 principles, laws and concepts that explain system behavior and performance. Second, a set of systems theory-based pathologies that can be explained as deviation in application of systems theory (i.e., lack of use or violation) are articulated. Third, the chapter discusses implications of the developed pathologies for practitioners faced with the task of formulating complex system problems. The chapter concludes with proposed future research.

Challenging Strategic Planning Assumptions -- Theory, Cases and Techniques

Article

Apr 1982
J OPER RES SOC

System governance analysis of complex systems

Thesis

Jan 2013

Behnido Calida

Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition

Article

Apr 1977

Governing as Governance Sage

Article

Jan 2003

Jan Kooiman

The concept of ‘governance’ has become a central catchword across the social and political sciences. In Governing and Governance, Jan Kooiman revisits and develops his seminal work in the field to map and demonstrate the utility of a sociopolitical perspective to our understanding of contemporary forms of governing, governance and governability. A central underlying theme of the book is the notion of governance as a process of interaction between different societal and political actors and the growing interdependencies between the two as modern societies become ever more complex, dynamic and diverse. Drawing upon a wide range of interdisciplinary insights, the book advances a comprehensive conceptual framework that seeks to capture the different elements, modes and orders of governing and governance. A series of useful distinctions are employed, for example, between self, ‘co’, and hierarchical modes, and between first, second, or meta orders to illustrate the many different structures and levels of modern governance today. Theoretically rich and illuminating, Governing and Governance will be essential reading for all students and academics across the social and political sciences, public management and public administration.

General System Theory: Foundations

Article

Jan 1968

L. V. Bertalanffy

Understanding Governance: Ten Years On

Article

Aug 2007

R. A. W. Rhodes

The paper reassesses the argument in Understanding Governance (1997). The first section summarizes where we are now in the study of governance, reviewing briefly the key concepts of policy networks, governance, core executive, hollowing out the state and the differentiated polity. The second section engages with my critics with the aim of opening new directions of research. I concentrate on the key issues of: the context of policy networks, explaining change and the role of ideas, the decline of the state, rescuing the core executive, and steering networks. Under each heading, I sketch a decentred answer to the question of where we go from here. I argue the analysis of governance should focus on beliefs, practices, traditions and dilemmas.

Holistic Governance

Article

Mar 1990
Publ Pol Admin

Andrew Dunsire

Public governance: Balancing stakeholder power in a network society

Article

Jun 2005
INT REV ADM SCI

Tony Bovaird

The emergence of governance as a key concept in the public domain is relatively recent, although the concerns which it embraces are age-old. This article traces the evolution of the concept and maps the contours of its current position in public administration. It suggests that ‘governance’ as a set of balancing mechanisms in a network society is still a contested concept, both in theory and in practice, but that there are already many attempts to delineate its dimensions more clearly and to assess how well it is being achieved in different contexts. Public governance principles are also being incorporated within legislation but there is a need for proportionality — such principles need to be weighed against cost-effectiveness considerations. It is still unclear whether we are moving to a future in which government remains the key player in public governance or whether we might move through ‘governance in the shadow of government’ to self-organizing policy and service delivery systems — ‘governance without government’.

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Critical Infrastructure Protection in the fight against terrorism

Article

Oct 2004

European Commission

Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System

Article

Mar 2009

Satoshi Nakamoto

A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they'll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.

Fannie, Freddie, and the Subprime Mortgage Market

Article

Mar 2011

Mark A. Calabria

The recent financial crisis was characterized by losses in nearly every type of investment vehicle. Yet no product has attracted as much attention as the subprime mortgage.What is generally agreed is that subprime mortgages disproportionately contributed both to the severity of the crisis and to the size of losses imposed upon the taxpayer. What remains in dispute is the role of government — specifically, that of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — in expanding the availability of subprime mortgage credit.Changes in the mortgage market, resulting largely from misguided monetary policy, drove a frenzy of refinancing activity in 2003. When that origination boom died out, mortgage industry participants looked elsewhere for profits. Fannie and Freddie, among others, found those illusionary profits in lowering credit quality.Foremost among the government-sponsored enterprises' deleterious activities was their vast direct purchases of loans that can only be characterized as subprime. Under reasonable definitions of subprime, almost 30 percent of Fannie and Freddie direct purchases could be considered subprime.The government-sponsored enterprises were also the largest single investor in subprime privatelabel mortgage-backed securities. During the height of the housing bubble, almost 40 percent of newly issued private-label subprime securities were purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.In order to protect both the taxpayer and our broader economy, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be abolished, along with other policies that transfer the risk of mortgage default from the lender to the taxpayer.

Working Paper No. 601 Too Big to Fail in Financial Crisis: Motives, Countermeasures, and Prospects by

Article

Sep 2010

Bernard Shull

Regulatory forbearance and government financial support for the largest U.S. financial companies during the crisis of 2007–09 highlighted a "too big to fail" problem that has existed for decades. As in the past, effects on competition and moral hazard were seen as outweighed by the threat of failures that would undermine the financial system and the economy. As in the past, current legislative reforms promise to prevent a reoccurrence. This paper proceeds on the view that a better understanding of why too-big-to-fail policies have persisted will provide a stronger basis for developing effective reforms. After a review of experience in the United States over the last 40 years, it considers a number of possible motives. The explicit rationale of regulatory authorities has been to stem a systemic threat to the financial system and the economy resulting from interconnections and contagion, and/or to assure the continuation of financial services in particular localities or regions. It has been contended, however, that such threats have been exaggerated, and that forbearance and bailouts have been motivated by the "career interests" of regulators. Finally, it has been suggested that existing large financial firms are preserved because they serve a public interest independent of the systemic threat of failure they pose—they constitute a "national resource." Each of these motives indicates a different type of reform necessary to contain too-big-to-fail policies. They are not, however, mutually exclusive, and may all be operative simultaneously. Concerns about the stability of the financial system dominate current legislative proposals; these would strengthen supervision and regulation. Other kinds of reform, including limits on regulatory discretion, would be needed to contain "career interest" motivations. If, however, existing financial companies are viewed as serving a unique public purpose, then improved supervision and regula

Smart Governance: Governing the Global Knowledge Society

Article

Jan 2007

Helmut Willke

In the wake of globalization, national governments are becoming increasingly interdependent, and knowledge is arguably becoming the most valuable form of capital. Helmut Willkeâs Smart Governance offers a new perspective on global governance from the vantage point of a global knowledge society. Employing a case study of the global financial system and an analysis of several governance regimes, Willke contends that markets, legal systems, and morality must evolve to cope with uncertainty, build capacities, and achieve resilience. Smart Governance will change the way economists, historians, and political scientists view international cooperation.

Research Foundations for System of Systems Engineering

Conference Paper

Nov 2005

Charles B. Keating

System of systems engineering (SoSE) continues to evolve as a potentially promising response for analysis, design, and transformation of increasingly complex systems problems. The purpose of this paper is to establish critical foundations and offer a coherent framing for further research in SoSE. To achieve this purpose the paper is organized to: (1) introduce a contemporary perspective of SoSE, focused on identifying both convergence and divergence in the literature, (2) develop five logical levels that can help to understand divergence in SoSE and sharpen future research efforts, (3) articulate several of the critical research challenges that SoSE must address to be viable, and (4) identify a preliminary set of critical topical research areas for development of a more integrated research agenda for SoSE. The paper concludes with implications for close coupling of research and practice for the accelerated development of SoSE through an integrated research agenda.

Blockchain and the Future of Money and Finance: A Qualitative Exploratory Study of Blockchain Technology and Implications for the Monetary and Financial System

Jan 2017

R Alvseike
G A G Iversen

Alvseike, R. and Iversen, G.A.G. (2017) Blockchain and the Future of Money and Finance: A Qualitative Exploratory Study of Blockchain Technology and Implications for the Monetary and Financial System, Masters, Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, Norway [online] https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/handle/11250/2453330.

Earth System Governance: People, Places and the Planet. Science and Implementation Plan of the Earth System Governance Project

Jan 2009

F Biermann
M M Betsill
J Gupta
N Kanie
L Lebel
D Liverman
B Siebenhüner

Biermann, F., Betsill, M.M., Gupta, J., Kanie, N., Lebel, L., Liverman, D., Siebenhüner, B. et al. (2009) Earth System Governance: People, Places and the Planet. Science and Implementation Plan of the Earth System Governance Project, No. Earth System Governance Report 1, IHDP Report 20, The Earth System Governance Project, IHDP, Bonn [online] http://www. earthsystemgovernance.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Earth-System-Governance_ Science-Plan.pdf (accessed 11/12/2018).

Blockchain: An Insider's Guide

Jan 2018

Cbs Interactive

CBS Interactive (2018) Blockchain: An Insider's Guide, Tech Republic [online] https://www. techrepublic.com/resource-library/whitepapers/blockchain-an-insider-s-guide/

BlockChain technology: beyond bitcoin

Jan 2016
6-19

M Crosby
Nachiappan
P Pattanayak
S Verma
V Kalyanaraman

Crosby, M., Nachiappan, Pattanayak, P., Verma, S. and Kalyanaraman, V. (2016) 'BlockChain technology: beyond bitcoin', Applied Innovation Review, No. 2, pp.6-19.

Blockchain: The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?

Jul 2016

A Hern

Hern, A. (2016) Blockchain: The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?, 7 July, The Guardian [online] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/07/blockchain-answerlife-universe-everything-bitcoin-technology (accessed 11/12/2018).

Quantum Computers: The End of Cryptography?

Sep 2014

A Infante

Infante, A. (2014) Quantum Computers: The End of Cryptography? [online] https://www. makeuseof.com/tag/quantum-computers-end-cryptography/ (accessed 2 September 2018).

Governance implications for meeting challenges in the system of systems engineering field

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