Comparing Financial Systems

Comparing Financial Systems

Author: Franklin Allen

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 524

ISBN-13: 9780262011778

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Why do different countries have such different financial systems? Is one system better than the other? This text argues that the view that market-based systems are best is simplistic, and suggests that a more nuanced approach is necessary.


Comparing Financial Systems

Comparing Financial Systems

Author: Franklin Allen

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2001-01-26

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0262511258

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The authors argue that the view that market-based systems are best is simplistic; a more nuanced approach is necessary. Financial systems are crucial to the allocation of resources in a modern economy. They channel household savings to the corporate sector and allocate investment funds among firms; they allow intertemporal smoothing of consumption by households and expenditures by firms; and they enable households and firms to share risks. These functions are common to the financial systems of most developed economies. Yet the form of these financial systems varies widely. In the United States and the United Kingdom competitive markets dominate the financial landscape, whereas in France, Germany, and Japan banks have traditionally played the most important role. Why do different countries have such different financial systems? Is one system better than all the others? Do different systems merely represent alternative ways of satisfying similar needs? Is the current trend toward market-based systems desirable? Franklin Allen and Douglas Gale argue that the view that market-based systems are best is simplistic. A more nuanced approach is necessary. For example, financial markets may be bad for risk sharing; competition in banking may be inefficient; financial crises can be good as well as bad; and separation of ownership and control can be optimal. Financial institutions are not simply veils, disguising the allocation mechanism without affecting it, but are crucial to overcoming market imperfections. An optimal financial system relies on both financial markets and financial intermediaries.


The German Financial System

The German Financial System

Author: Jan Pieter Krahmen (editor)

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 550

ISBN-13: 0199253161

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Written by a team of scholars, predominantly from the Centre for Financial Studies in Frankfurt, this volume provides a descriptive survey of the present state of the German financial system and a new analytical framework to explain its workings.


The Origins and Development of Financial Markets and Institutions

The Origins and Development of Financial Markets and Institutions

Author: Jeremy Atack

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-03-16

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 1139477048

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Collectively, mankind has never had it so good despite periodic economic crises of which the current sub-prime crisis is merely the latest example. Much of this success is attributable to the increasing efficiency of the world's financial institutions as finance has proved to be one of the most important causal factors in economic performance. In a series of insightful essays, financial and economic historians examine how financial innovations from the seventeenth century to the present have continually challenged established institutional arrangements, forcing change and adaptation by governments, financial intermediaries, and financial markets. Where these have been successful, wealth creation and growth have followed. When they failed, growth slowed and sometimes economic decline has followed. These essays illustrate the difficulties of co-ordinating financial innovations in order to sustain their benefits for the wider economy, a theme that will be of interest to policy makers as well as economic historians.


Understanding Financial Crises

Understanding Financial Crises

Author: Franklin Allen

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2009-04-02

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0191622869

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What causes a financial crisis? Can financial crises be anticipated or even avoided? What can be done to lessen their impact? Should governments and international institutions intervene? Or should financial crises be left to run their course? In the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, many blamed international institutions, corruption, governments, and flawed macro and microeconomic policies not only for causing the crisis but also unnecessarily lengthening and deepening it. Based on ten years of research, the authors develop a theoretical approach to analyzing financial crises. Beginning with a review of the history of financial crises and providing readers with the basic economic tools needed to understand the literature, the authors construct a series of increasingly sophisticated models. Throughout, the authors guide the reader through the existing theoretical and empirical literature while also building on their own theoretical approach. The text presents the modern theory of intermediation, introduces asset markets and the causes of asset price volatility, and discusses the interaction of banks and markets. The book also deals with more specialized topics, including optimal financial regulation, bubbles, and financial contagion.


Varieties of Capitalism

Varieties of Capitalism

Author: Peter A. Hall

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 0199247749

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Applying the new economics of organisation and relational theories of the firm to the problem of understanding cross-national variation in the political economy, this volume elaborates a new understanding of the institutional differences that characterise the 'varieties of capitalism' worldwide.


Saving for Development

Saving for Development

Author: Inter-American Development Bank

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-07-08

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1349949299

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Why should people - and economies - save? This book on the savings problem in Latin America and the Caribbean suggests that, while saving to survive the bad times is important, saving to thrive in the good times is what really counts. People must save to invest in health and education, live productive and fulfilling lives, and make the most of their retirement years. Firms must save to grow their enterprises, employ more workers in better jobs, and produce quality goods. Governments must save to build the infrastructure required by a productive economy, provide quality services to their citizens, and assure their senior citizens a dignified, worry-free retirement. In short, countries must save not for the proverbial rainy day, but for a sunny day - a time when everyone can bask in the benefits of growth, prosperity, and well-being. This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO license.


Financial Markets and Institutions

Financial Markets and Institutions

Author: Jakob de Haan

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-06-28

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 110702594X

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Second edition of a successful textbook that provides an insightful analysis of the world financial system.