We explore the determinants of U.S. financial market regulation with a formal model of the policy-making process in which government regulates financial risk at both the firm and systemic levels, and test these predictions with a novel, comprehensive data set of financial regulatory laws enacted...

"The 2008 financial crash was the worst financial crisis and the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. It triggered a complete overhaul of the global regulatory environment, ushering in a stream of new rules and laws to combat the perceived weakness of the financial system....