The flaws of the Maastrict Treaty are a frequent object of commentary but, as yet, Europe remains unable - or, perhaps more accurately, unwilling - to address these flaws. The European project will remain unfinished and the ability of the European Central Bank to implement effective monetary...

The current financial and sovereign crisis is pushing European politicians and EU bureaucrats to devise new institutional and policy solutions. However, the new EU institutional framework and stricter regulatory requirements do not introduce significant changes in the laissez-faire nature of the...

The current financial and sovereign crisis is pushing European politicians and EU bureaucrats to devise new institutional and policy solutions. However, the new EU institutional framework and stricter regulatory requirements do not introduce significant changes in the laissez-faire nature of the...

Starting from the mid-nineteenth century, this paper analyzes two periods of financial instability connected with financial globalization. The first culminates with the 1929 crisis, while the second characterizes the more recent experience starting from the 1970s. The period in between is...

The drive towards radical reforms of financial regulation is weakening as financial firms seem to be returning to calmer waters. The proposals that now appear to be having a higher probability of adoption leave the financial structure and its regulation substantially unchanged. An analysis of...

The paper offers a critical assessment of the financial reforms adopted or proposed at the European level. The reshaping of the EU institutional architecture and the adoption of the new Basel 3 rules should reduce the national margins of discretion that have up to now characterised supervisory...