How differences in national financial regulatory systems emerged from divergent beliefs about economic order and prosperity The global financial crisis of the late 2000s was marked by the failure of regulators to rein in risk-taking by banks. And yet regulatory issues varied from country to country, with some national financial regulatory systems proving more effective than others. In Visions of Financial Order, Kim Pernell traces the emergence of important national differences in financial regulation in the decades leading up to the crisis. To do so, she examines the cases of the United States, Canada, and Spain—three countries that subscribed to the same transnational regulatory framework (the Basel Capital Accord) but developed different regulatory policies in areas that would directly affect bank performance during the financial crisis. In a broad historical analysis that extends from the rise of the first modern chartered banks in the 1780s through the major financial crises of the twentieth century and the Basel Capital Accord of 1988, Pernell shows how the different (and sometimes competing) principles of order embedded in each country’s regulatory and political institutions gave rise to distinctive visions of order and prosperity, which shaped subsequent financial regulatory design. Pernell argues that the different worldviews of national banking regulators reflected cultural beliefs about the ideal way to organize economic life to promote order, stability, and prosperity. Visions of Financial Order offers an innovative perspective on the persistent differences between regulatory institutions and the ways they shaped the unfolding of the 2008 global financial crisis.

In his best-selling Irrational Exuberance, Robert Shiller cautioned that society's obsession with the stock market was fueling the volatility that has since made a roller coaster of the financial system. Less noted was Shiller's admonition that our infatuation with the stock market distracts us from more durable economic prospects. These lie in the hidden potential of real assets, such as income from our livelihoods and homes. But these ''ordinary riches,'' so fundamental to our well-being, are increasingly exposed to the pervasive risks of a rapidly changing global economy. This compelling and important new book presents a fresh vision for hedging risk and securing our economic future. Shiller describes six fundamental ideas for using modern information technology and advanced financial theory to temper basic risks that have been ignored by risk management institutions--risks to the value of our jobs and our homes, to the vitality of our communities, and to the very stability of national economies. Informed by a comprehensive risk information database, this new financial order would include global markets for trading risks and exploiting myriad new financial opportunities, from inequality insurance to intergenerational social security. Just as developments in insuring risks to life, health, and catastrophe have given us a quality of life unimaginable a century ago, so Shiller's plan for securing crucial assets promises to substantially enrich our condition. Once again providing an enormous service, Shiller gives us a powerful means to convert our ordinary riches into a level of economic security, equity, and growth never before seen. And once again, what Robert Shiller says should be read and heeded by anyone with a stake in the economy.

What does the Qur'an mean, then, when it so often calls itself Kitab, a term usually taken both by Muslims and by Western scholars to mean "book"?".

World Financial Orders challenges the predominance of neo-liberalism as a mode of knowledge about contemporary world finance, and claims that it neglects the social and political bases as well as the malign consequences of change. He looks to the field of International Political Economy (IPE) to construct an alternative mode, one that critically restores society and politics. An 'historical' approach to IPE is advanced that accounts for modern world finance since the seventeenth century as a succession of structurally distinct hierarchical social orders. This book will be of interest to those working in the field of IPE and to those scholars, researchers and students from across the social sciences who seek to challenge the common-sense, neo-liberal explanation of contemporary world finance.

Traditional understandings of economic development in low- and mid-income countries have largely been influenced by the economic narrative of Western Official Development Assistance (ODA). Within this framework, compliance with macroeconomic orthodoxy and early integration in Global Economic Governance (GEG) regimes are presented as enabling conditions to reach enhanced and sustainable levels of economic growth and social betterment. Yet, this narrative often fails to answer fundamental questions surrounding relational dynamics between the economies of ODA beneficiary countries and the GEG regimes they are asked to join. Bringing together contributions by Government officials, academics and development practitioners, this edited volume explores quantitative and qualitative approaches to socio-economic analysis in low- and mid-income countries, highlighting the conditions under which international economic policies and institutions can foster – or hinder – their socio-economic growth. In particular, contributions address the impact of both West and China-inspired international economic regimes on value-adding capacity, trade, investments, job creation and social development, thus advancing the debate on what policy and legal provisions should low- and mid-income countries adopt in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs deriving from joining international economic regimes. A comprehensive investigation of both sides of the Global Economic Governance and Human Development relationship; this book will interest scholars, practitioners and graduate students working in the areas of international relations, international political economy, global governance, international economics, development studies and human security.

This book is a state-of-the-art discussion of what has succeeded (and failed) in the design and implementation of projects and institutions to assist the poor in developing country economies. In Africa especially, far too many people are still living under conditions of extreme poverty. The goal of the book is twofold: (1) to identify and assess the key processes through which markets affect the livelihoods of the rural poor; and (2) to propose micro- and macro-level policies and innovations to address the problems of inclusion that arise. Featuring contributions from leading scholars and professionals in the field, this volume is timely to all those involved in designing innovative institutions that transfer capital and technologies to low-income countries facing the challenges of poverty alleviation and economic development.

As the world shifts away from the unquestioned American hegemony that followed in the wake of the Cold War, the United States is likely to face new kinds of threats and sharper resource constraints than it has in the past. However, the country's alliances, military institutions, and national security strategy have changed little since the Cold War. American foreign and defense policies, therefore, should be assessed for their fitness for achieving sustainable national security amidst the dynamism of the international political economy, changing domestic politics, and even a changing climate. This book brings together sixteen leading scholars from across political science, history, and political economy to highlight a range of American security considerations that deserve a larger role in both scholarship and strategic decision-making. In these chapters, scholars of political economy and the American defense budget examine the economic engine that underlies U.S. military might and the ways the country deploys these vast (but finite) resources. Historians illuminate how past great powers coped with changing international orders through strategic and institutional innovations. And regional experts assess America's current long-term engagements, from NATO to the chaos of the Middle East to the web of alliances in Asia, deepening understandings that help guard against both costly commitments and short-sighted retrenchments. This interdisciplinary volume sets an agenda for future scholarship that links politics, economics, and history in pursuit of sustainable security for the United States - and greater peace and stability for Americans and non-Americans alike.