Last week, we enjoyed hearing from you and learning with you on the idea of private cities. This week, we’d like to try more of the same, but focused on finance and Roberts’s conversation with Luigi Zingales.

finance2.jpg

1. Why are financial decisions “different” from other consumer decisions? (Roberts and Zingales use the grocery business as an example in this segment of the conversation.) To what extent ought the average individual investor protected in their financial decisions, and how?

2. Both Roberts and Zingales note that post-2008, while some institutions were penalized, the individuals engaged in fraudulent activity within them by and large were not. What best explains this seeming oversight, and why?

Are payday loans a positive or negative #innovation? 3. Zingales argues that payday loans are not a good financial innovation, while Roberts is less convinced. What do you think? Are payday loans net positive or negative? What evidence exists to support your position?