The Economics and Ethics of Insider Trading Reform

There was surprising momentum on the issue of insider trading reform at the start of 2020. On December 9, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Insider Trading Prohibition Act with wide bi-partisan support. In January 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission sponsored Bharara Task Force on Insider Trading released a report containing proposed legislation. Both the House bill and the task force's proposal recommend redefining insider trading as the wrongful use of information in securities trading. What do these recommendations for reform mean by "wrongful" use? After evaluating the current state of the law, this panel will discuss the economic and ethical implications of the two reform proposals.Featuring: -- Jonathan R. Macey, Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law, Yale University-- John Anderson, Professor of Law, Mississippi College School of Law, and the author of Insider Trading: Law, Ethics, and Reform-- Moderator: Kevin R. Douglas, Assistant Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law