Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa – författare

This book provides an indispensable guide to the economic, political and diplomatic process that led to the creation of the European single market and the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. In this new, expanded edition Padoa-Schioppa presents a lucid assessment of the opportunities and risks that EMU entailed; assesses the economic, monetary, political, and institutional significance of the euro; and reconsiders the rationale and underlying philosophy of EMU in the light of recent developments.Padoa-Schioppa has brought together a selection of his papers and speeches, covering 1982-94, from his work as Deputy Director General of the Banca d'Italia, and has edited them thoroughly to illuminate the recent history of European integration. A central theme of his book is the belief that a group of sovereign countries cannot for long sustain free trade, unrestricted capital movement, fixed exchange rates and full autonomy of national macroeconomic policies, and so need to move towards a single currency. He discusses extensively such issues as the single currency, the tasks of a European central bank, the ECU, the role of budgetary rules, currency competition, and the relationship between EMU and political union.The author has created an insider's guide to this topical issue for students, academics, policymakers and commentators alike. This book contains extracts from documents and an extensive chronology which will be of particular use for readers.

Grounding its analysis in the historical evolution of financial regulation, this book addresses a range of public policy issues that concern the design of financial regulation and its enforcement, and contributes several new ideas to the debate in this field. Financial systems have become more competitive across sectors of financial institutions and nations, and direct regulations have been removed in pursuit of efficiency. However, as the risk of institutional failures has increased, de-regulation has had to be followed by re-regulation. In which form should this happen? This book answers this question.First revisiting the issue of "why to regulate", Padoa-Schioppa argues that the need to continue to regulate banks in a special way follows from their key role as liquidity providers. At the same time, his argument recognizes the need for close interplay in the regulation of different financial sectors. The book goes on to discuss "how" regulation should be carried out in the modern environment. It should be market-friendly, but the balance between official intervention and market discipline is difficult to get right. Moreover, in an increasingly international context, financial regulation has to be evenly applied across countries to avoid regulatory arbitrage. The final part of the book turns to issues specifically connected with developments in the European Union. One major issue is the maintenance of financial stability in the Euro area where the financial system is becoming especially integrated. Another major issue is the appropriate role of central banks. As the literature and practice are still very much under development, Padoa-Schioppa analyses the general aspects of the financial stability function of central banks -- particularly in relation to the monetary policy and supervision functions -- as well as the tools available for the Eurosystem.