The British Government And The City Of London In The Twentieth Century

The relationship between the British government and the City of London has become central to debates on modern British economic, political and social life. For some the City's financial and commercial interests have exercised a dominant influence over government economic policy, creating a preoccupation with international markets and the strength of sterling which impaired domestic industrial and social well-being. Others have argued that government seriously constricted financial markets, jeopardising Britain's most successful economic sector. This collection of essays was the first book to address these issues over the entire twentieth century. It brings together leading financial and political historians to assess the government-City relationship from several directions and by examination of key episodes. As such, it will be indispensable not just for the study of modern British politics and finance, but also for assessment of the worldwide problem of tensions between national governments and international financial centres.

Jerry White's London in the Twentieth Century, Winner of the Wolfson Prize, is a masterful account of the city’s most tumultuous century by its leading expert. In 1901 no other city matched London in size, wealth and grandeur. Yet it was also a city where poverty and disease were rife. For its inhabitants, such contradictions and diversity were the defining experience of the next century of dazzling change. In the worlds of work and popular culture, politics and crime, through war, immigration and sexual revolution, Jerry White’s richly detailed and captivating history shows how the city shaped their lives and how it in turn was shaped by them.

The stock market globalization process has produced historic changes in the structure of stock markets, the effects of which are evident throughout the world. Despite these transformations, there are relatively few sources examining the connections between the globalization process currently underway and previous periods of stock market globalization. This seminal volume fills that gap. The chapters in the first section look to previous globalization periods through the lens of the corporate economy, valuing equities and managed funds. Further chapters address current issues such as the social closure of the exchange, demutualization and mergers and acquisitions as well as cross-listing and liquidity. The final chapters consider the regulatory challenges posed by stock market globalization. These include the pressures on regulators from rent-seeking stock market participants, the demise of exchange trading floors and Latin America's stock market. Timely, multi-disciplinary and practical, this informative Handbook will be an essential reference for students and scholars of economics, finance and accounting, finance professionals and security market regulators.

This book addresses the divide that exists between the reality of finance and the image it projects. A functioning financial system is an essential feature of a modern economy, providing it with money, credit, capital, and investments. Conversely, those who provide this essential service are neither respected nor trusted. The causes and consequences of this divide is explored using the British experience from 1800 to the present, drawing upon a mixture of factual evidence and contemporary fiction. Nothing of this scale has been attempted before and this is the product of 50 years of research.

The Global Financial Crisis made its first appearance in Britain towards the end of 2007 with the failure of the Northern Rock Bank. It then reached an unparalleled intensity a year later when the government was forced to intervene to prevent the collapse of Lloyds/HBOS and RBS/Natwest. Before these events the British banking system possessed a long established reputation for resilience and competence that made it one of the most admired and trusted in the world. The financial crisis of 2007/8, and the subsequent revelations about the behaviour of bankers, destroyed that reputation and drove a desire for a complete reform of the British banking system. Forgotten in this headlong rush towards radical restructuring were the reasons why the British banking system had become so admired and trusted. The aim of this book is to explain why the British banking system gained its reputation for resilience and competence, maintained it for over 100 years, and then lost it in such a rapid and spectacular fashion. To achieve that aim requires a study of the entire banking system. Banks are key components of a complex financial system continually interacting with each other, and constantly changing over time, This makes the conventional distinctions drawn between different types of banks, including those specialising in international finance, savings and loans, corporate lending, and retail deposits and borrowing, inappropriate for any long-term analysis. The distinctions between different types of banks were neither absolute nor permanent but relative and temporary. Banks were also central to both the payments system and the money market without which no modern economy could function. What this book is about is the development of the British banking system as a whole over more than three centuries. Only with such an understanding is it possible to appreciate what the British banking system achieved and then maintained from the middle of the 19th century onwards, why it was lost in such a short space of time, and what needs to be done to return it to the position it once occupied. Without such an understanding the mistakes of the recent past are destined to be repeated time and gain.

Industrial Clusters shows the latest state of knowledge on the topic of industrial clusters, with a particular focus on clustering in the UK, bringing together a chronological coverage of the phenomenon. This set of original essays by a group of leading business and industrial historians offers fresh perspectives about clusters and clustering. A primary emphasis of the collection is how knowledge is generated and disseminated across a cluster, and whether these processes stimulated innovation and consequently longer-term sustainability. This analysis also prompts questions about which unit of analysis to examine, from the entrepreneurs and firms they created through to the industry as a whole and district in which they are located, or whether one should look outside the region for explanatory factors. Covering regions as diverse as North Wales, the Scottish Highlands, the City of London, the Potteries, Sheffield and Lancashire, the essays have been channelled to provide a detailed understanding of these issues. The editors have also provided a challenging Conclusion that suggests a new research agenda that could well unravel some of the mysteries associated with clustering. This edited collection will be of interest to international researchers, academics and students in the fields of business and management history, innovation, industrialisation and clusters.

This book addresses the interface of the British Foreign Office, foreign policy and commerce in the twentieth century. Two related questions are considered: what did the Foreign Office do to support British commerce, and how did commerce influence British foreign policy? The editors of this work collect a range of case studies that explore the attitude of the Foreign Office towards commerce and trade promotion, against the backdrop of a century of relative economic decline, while also considering the role of British diplomats in creating markets and supporting UK firms. This highly researched and detailed examination is designed for readers aiming to comprehend the role that commerce played in Britain’s foreign relations, in a century when trade and commerce have become an inseparable element in foreign and security policies.

This history of the global securities market is the product of over 30 years of research by one of the world's foremost financial historians. It covers all aspects of the history of the securities markets from its beginnings in Medieval Venice through Amsterdam and London to its operations in Tokyo and New York today. It also integrates the history of both stocks and bonds, established and emerging markets, stock exchanges and over-the- counter trading, and the crises and continuity that have made the global securities market such a force in the world over the centuries. A path-breaking book unlike any other written before, it provides in one volume an authoritative account of the global securities market from its earliest developments to the present day.