Transnational Financial Associations And The Governance Of Global Finance

The role of business in global governance is now widely recognized, but exploration of its role in global financial governance has been more haphazard than systematic. This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the role of transnational financial associations (TFAs) in the organization of global finance. This book develops three theoretical themes of assemblage, functionality, and power as enrolment. These themes challenge approaches that treat financial power as emanating from a single location or force. Whilst existing approaches tend to treat TFAs as irrelevant or as merely transmitting power originating elsewhere, this book argues that power must be created by painstakingly assembling actors, networks, and objects that are often quite autonomous and working at cross purposes to one another—a process in which TFAs play a central role. The book explores these themes in chapters examining the roles of TFAs in interacting with public authorities, constructing global financial markets, and creating financial communities. The authors additionally analyse the roles of TFAs in the European Union, in the Global South, and in promoting goals other than profitability, including Islamic finance, microfinancing, savings banks and cooperatives. Making a distinctive contribution to our understanding of global finance and global governance, Transnational Financial Associations and the Governance of Global Finance is an important book for students and scholars of international political economy, finance, global governance and international relations.

The global financial crisis that began in 2007 was the most destructive since the 1930s. The rapid spread of the crisis across borders and the complexity of these cross-border linkages highlighted the importance for authorities of working together in responding to the crisis. This book examines the transnational response that relied heavily on a set of relatively informal transnational regulatory groupings that had been constructed over previous decades. During the crisis these arrangements were made stronger and more inclusive, but they remain very complex. Thousands of pages of new rules have been created by various transnational bodies, and the implementation of these rules relies heavily on domestic law and regulation and private rules and practices. This book analyses this complex response, showing that its overly technical and incremental character, the persistence of tensions between transnational processes and state-centred politics, and the ongoing power of private actors, have made the regulatory response fall short of what is needed. Transnational Financial Regulation after the Crisis provides new insights that are relevant for theory and practice, not only for transnational financial regulation, but for global governance more generally.

Money, finance and credit are literally the lifeblood of the modern economy. The distribution of money and credit are essential to productive investment in trade and industry, to the maintenance of consumer purchasing power and demand, to individuals' social status and standard of living, and ultimately to public order. This importnat new volume provides a wide-ranging discussion of both the potential and the problems arising from the application of multi-level governance literature to the monetary and financial domain. The contributors achieve this through a range of case studies and conceptual discussions of the issues raised by financial and monetary governance, acknowledging that multi-level governance has to take the form of a framework which recognizes a fluid range of scales, and the significance of non-formal institutional and social nodes of authority.

Global Finance in the 21st Century: Stability and Sustainability in a Fragmenting World explains finance and its regulation after the global financial crisis. The book introduces non-finance scholars into the wider debate regarding the conduct and regulation of finance to encourage broader discussion on important societal issues that relate to finance. The book also explores the ineffectiveness of the current approach to global prudential governance and places this discussion within the more expansive context of global governance and nationalism in the twenty-first century. The book argues that fragmentation and the growing trend of promoting informality and voluntarism has facilitated a return to nationalism as a primary form of global governance that acts contrary to post-crisis reforms that seek to promote stability and sustainability in the conduct of finance. As a remedy, Kourabas suggests that we need more, not less, of what we have traditionally conceived as international law – treaties and treaty-based international organisations. In the field of finance, this means not only pursuing financial liberalisation through free trade and investment treaties, but also the inclusion of provisions in these treaties that promotes systemic financial stability and sustainable development objectives. Of interest to legal and non-legal academics and students, legal professionals and policy-makers, this book offers a nuanced defence of international law as an approach to global governance in finance and beyond, as well as reform of international law to meet the needs of twenty-first century society.

From the vantage point of the key powers in global finance including the United States, the European Union, Japan, and China, this highly accessible book brings together leading scholars to examine current changes in international financial regulation. They assess whether the flurry of ambitious initiatives to improve and strengthen international financial regulation signals an important turning point in the regulation of global finance. The text: Examines the kinds of international reforms have been implemented to date and patterns of international regulatory change. Provides an analysis of change across a number of financial sectors, including the regulation of hedge funds, derivatives, credit rating agencies, accounting, and banks. Offers an explanation of contemporary regulatory developments with reference to inter-state power dynamics, domestic politics, transgovernmental networks, and/or transnational non-state forces. Providing the first systematic analysis of the international regulatory response to the current global financial crisis, this ground-breaking volume is vital reading for students and scholars of international political economy, international relations, global governance, finance and economics.

Big banks are capable of wreaking havoc on the global economy, and governments have often felt powerless to stop them. Regulators have responded by developing coordinated programs to handle banks, insurers, broker dealers, shadow banks and other businesses that can blow up in a crisis. This program began informally and undemocratically, and has developed into something much more organized, formalized and predictable, even though it has never been legally enforceable. David Zaring examines the realities of the current international financial system and concludes that in fact this is a well-ordered and functioning regulatory environment: the international financial system enjoys a substantial degree of compliance, and operates predictably and harmoniously. As a result, perhaps this could serve as a paradigm for future global governance. Zaring explores three aspects of international financial regulation that can inform global governance: harmonization through rules, cooperation on enforcement and agreement on fundamental principles.

This key text brings together twenty activists, officials and researchers from the five continents to discuss this burning question of today's globalization debate. Providing rare, authoritative analyses by those who deal with the issues first hand, Civil Society and Global Finance is rich in insight and policy ideas for decision-makers, students and concerned citizens.

The global finance system has been the subject of hot debate for several years. Major players such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have come under fire for their financial practices, while the role of epistemic authorities, including rating agencies, remains unclear. This book systematically analyzes the role knowledge plays in global finance reform by considering its influence in the empirical areas of finance (banking, accounting, and bond rating, for example). As the contributors demonstrate, current institutional management strategies reflect a shift toward "cognitive," or learning-based modes of managing financial and political risks--and this cognitive thinking has its own consequences for the global marketplace.