How can economic policy-makers use economic history as a guide for their deliberations and decisions? Focusing on the case of central banking, this essay argues that the virtue of history is not only to improve economic models and quantitative studies, but to provide a perspective distinct from standard economic reasoning.
Shadow banking refers to bank-like financial activities that do not fall under traditional regulations; they have been one of the root causes of the recent financial crisis. M. Thiemann identifies the structural causes for their rapid growth, and shows which institutional reforms could prevent the circumvention of regulations.
Former Governor of the Bank of England and a renowned economist, Mervyn King presents his views on the recent financial crisis and urges economists to accomplish a “necessary intellectual revolution leading to a complete reform program”.
Most banks have now abandoned their previous function of providing advice. Instead, they view their services as products designed to maximize profits. They have started invoking the client’s autonomy as a way of passing on the risk of financial exclusion to their customers. In what ways have bank employees reacted to these new circumstances?
Eugene White, one of the leading financial historians in the United States, discusses how history can shed light on the current debates about banking regulation. Stressing the difference between 19th and 20th century financial crises, he explains the causes of financial crashes, the legacy of the Glass Steagall act, as well as the future of banking.
What does a human life look like to a bank teller? The banking system’s rules of variable geometry mean that the morality of money is not the same for everyone. Money cuts across social boundaries and strengthens them at the same time, forcing those who are less well off to endure the humiliating end-of-month struggle in the name of “autonomy.”
How does a bank work? Is information theory sufficient to the understanding of the complex interactions between clients and the different professions involved in creating financial products? Using Bruno Latour’s sociology of sciences, an innovative study takes its chances at solving some of the most difficult riddles of contemporary financial theory.
