Governance, regulation and financial market instability: the implications for policy

Just as the 1929 Stock Market Crash discredited Classical economic theory and policy and opened the way for Keynesianism, a consequence of the collapse of confidence in financial markets and the banking system—and the effect that this has had on the global macro economy—is currently discrediting the ‘conventional wisdom’ of neo-liberalism. This paper argues that at the heart of the crisis is a breakdown in governance that has its roots in the co-evolution of political and economic developments and of economic theory and policy since the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression that followed. However, while many are looking back to the Great Depression and to the theories and policies that seemed to contribute to recovery during the first part of the twentieth century, we argue that the current context is different from the earlier one; and there are more recent events that may provide better insight into the causes and contributing factors giving rise to the present crisis and to the implications for theory and policy that follow

The faces of liberal capitalism: Anglo-Saxon capitalism in crisis?

The recent financial crisis has severely shaken confidence in the conventional wisdom of economic liberalism, giving rise to debate about the appropriate direction of theory and policy. In this context, the sharply divergent experiences of the four main Anglo-Saxon banking systems suggest that the crisis may not so much be one of liberal capitalism per se as it is of the neoclassical variety that characterises the British and American systems. Whereas these banking systems were very badly affected by the crisis, the Canadian and Australian systems were not. Our analysis suggests that this can be explained by differences in the way that economic liberalism was interpreted and translated into policy in the four countries during the period preceding the crisis. It also suggests that broad classifications of national business systems into ‘liberal market’ and other varieties of capitalism do not capture their inherent diversity, and that financial market liberalisation does not necessarily lead to instability, particularly when it is accompanied by appropriate supervision and prudential regulation

Anglo-Saxon capitalism in crisis? models of liberal capitalism and the preconditions for financial stability

Book synopsis: 'The latest generation of research in comparative institutional analysis of business is impressively captured in this volume; readers find depth in theory development, breadth in application to practice and policy, and insight on the big research issues ahead. Both generalist and specialist readers will find much of value here.' – Bruce Evan Kaufman, Georgia State University, US This inspiring Handbook brings together alternative perspectives from a range of disciplines to shed light on the nature of institutions and their relationship to firm-level practices and outcomes across a wide range of national settings. Expertly written by leading scholars from a range of different starting points, this compendium presents a synthesis of recent work relating to institutionally-informed accounts from transitional and emerging markets, as well as from mature economies. It specifically focuses on the linkage between institutions and what goes on inside firms, and the relationship between setting, strategic choice and systemic outcomes. The Handbook is explicitly multi-disciplinary, encompassing perspectives from a range of the functional areas of management studies. It will prove invaluable for postgraduate students and faculty in international business, and the wider research community in the areas of international business, corporate governance, socio-economics, and comparative HRM