James R. Barth – författare

How the unaccountable, unmonitorable, and unchecked actions of regulators precipitated the global financial crisis; and how to reform the system.

The recent financial crisis was an accident, a “perfect storm” fueled by an unforeseeable confluence of events that unfortunately combined to bring down the global financial systems. Or at least this is the story told and retold by a chorus of luminaries that includes Timothy Geithner, Henry Paulson, Robert Rubin, Ben Bernanke, and Alan Greenspan.

In Guardians of Finance, economists James Barth, Gerard Caprio, and Ross Levine argue that the financial meltdown of 2007 to 2009 was no accident; it was negligent homicide. They show that senior regulatory officials around the world knew or should have known that their policies were destabilizing the global financial system and yet chose not to act until the crisis had fully emerged.

Barth, Caprio, and Levine propose a reform to counter this systemic failure: the establishment of a “Sentinel” to provide an informed, expert, and independent assessment of financial regulation. Its sole power would be to demand information and to evaluate it from the perspective of the public—rather than that of the financial industry, the regulators, or politicians.

An often-overlooked aspect of entrepreneurship in American is its role in emerging domestic markets (EDM). These markets – low-to-moderate income communities, ethnic- and women-owned businesses, urban areas – are frequently ignored by mainstream markets. Yet with current demographic trends, they are an increasingly large component of the US population. Entrepreneurship can serve as a means to foster business development in these emerging communities and as a critically important way to improve the standard of living in low- and moderate-income (LMI) sectors.

Increasingly, policy makers, advocates and investors understand national economic growth demands business formation among all segments of the market, and that the best attack on poverty is job and wealth creation. A robust entrepreneurial climate helps address the challenges and harness the opportunities.

“Entrepreneurship in Emerging Domestic Markets: Barriers and Innovation” is a compendium of papers written by the leading researchers and practitioners from the fields of finance, public policy, entrepreneurship, and economics. With this volume, the editors aim to provide scholars, students, investors, policymakers, and the business community a resource that explores the issues surrounding entrepreneurship in EDM communities.

The contributors - top international scholars from finance, law and business - explore the role of governance, both internal and external, in explaining risk-taking and other aspects of the behavior of financial institutions. Additionally, they discuss market and policy features affecting objectives and quality of governance. The chapters provide in-depth analysis of factors such as: ownership, efficiency and stability; market discipline; compensation and performance; social responsibility; and governance in non-bank financial institutions. Only through this kind of rigorous examination can one hope to implement the financial reforms necessary and sufficient to reduce the likelihood and severity of future crises.

Bringing the reader to the frontier of research on governance of financial institutions, this volume is sure to inspire future research in scholars and students of financial institutions, governance and banking. Practitioners in financial institutions and public regulatory and supervisory authorities will also find much of value and insight in this book.

Contributors: E. Arbak, F. Arnaboldi, R. Ayadi, J.R. Barth, T. Berglund, A.W.A. Boot, D. Brash, B. Casu, Y. Chang, H. Choe, W.P. De Groen, J.K. Dietrich, W. Dolde, R. Galema, S. Gangopadhyay, C. Girardone, P.A. Gompers, Y. Gong, C.A.E. Goodhart, B.E. Gup, J. Hagendorff, I. Hasan, R.J. Herring, A.G.F. Hoepner, J. Houston, J. Itzkowitz, J.D. Knopf, S. Koibuchi, R.M. Lastra, B. Lee, R. Lensink, L. Li, C. Lin, Y. Ma, P. MacKay, M. Marinc, D.G. Mayes, R. Mersland, R. Mohan, P. Molyneux, A. Mullineux, A. Naranjo, A.A. Palvia, A.P. Prabha, H.L. Root, W. Sawangngoenyuang, S.K. Shanthi, C.-H. Shen, F.M. Song, L. Song, K.R. Spong, T. Subhanij, R.J. Sullivan, F. Vallascas, P.J. Wallison, I. Walter, L.J. White, C. Wihlborg, T.D. Willett, J.O.S. Wilson, Y. Xuan, Z. Zhou

This book addresses the on-going process of financial restructuring and reform in post-WTO China from a legal perspective. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the impact of the WTO on China’s financial markets and financial law systems. Chapter 2 discusses reform of banking law and regulation in post-WTO China. Chapter 3 addresses the role of the central bank in China’s financial system, focusing on issues of independence and accountability of the People’s Banking of China (PBOC), China’s central bank. Chapter 4 analyses China’s compliance with WTO obligations in the area of banking. Chapter 5 discusses the role of asset management companies (AMCs) in China’s on-going banking restructuring and liberalization. Chapter 6 analyses the development of securities markets in China, the challenges being faced and the impact of the WTO. Chapter 7 describes insurance and its development in China, focusing on the role of the WTO in liberalization. A new topic in China, i.e., financial conglomerates, is discussed in chapter 8, building upon the discussions in the previous chapters. Chapter 9 in turn studies the issue of financial institution insolvency and restructuring as noted in previous chapters, key issues in China. Chapter 10 discusses the double impact of the WTO and one of China’s regional trade agreements, CEPA, on China’s banking law.