Journal Article
What is the value of bank output?
Wang, J. Christina; Fernald, John G.; Inklaar, Robert; Alon, Titan (2011)
Financial institutions often do not charge explicit fees for the services they provide, but are instead compensated by the spread between interest rates on loans and deposits. The lack of explicit fees in lending makes it difficult to measure the output of banks and other financial institutions. Effective measurement should distinguish between income derived from lending services and income derived from portfolio decisions about risk and duration, and should be consistent among bank and nonbank financial institutions.
FRBSF Economic Letter

Journal Article
Operation Twist and the effect of large-scale asset purchases
Swanson, Eric T.; Alon, Titan (2011)
The Federal Reserve's current large-scale asset purchase program, dubbed "QE2," has a precedent in a 1961 initiative by the Kennedy Administration and the Federal Reserve known as "Operation Twist." An analysis finds that four of six potentially market-moving Operation Twist announcements had statistically significant effects and that the program cumulatively caused a significant but moderate 0.15 percentage point reduction in longer-term Treasury yields. These results can be used to estimate QE2's effects.
FRBSF Economic Letter

Journal Article
What is China's capital seeking in a global environment?
Santos, Joao A. C.; Hale, Galina; Alon, Titan (2010)
China is becoming increasingly active in international markets for mergers and acquisitions. Chinese acquirers are buying stakes in foreign companies to get access to resources, markets, and technology, among other reasons. With China's expanding wealth and vast foreign exchange resources, further growth in the volume and variety of foreign direct investment is likely.
FRBSF Economic Letter