Financial Politics: Case Analysis and the Implications of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis

Abstract

This chapter reviews the case studies examined in this book from a theoretical perspective and summarizes what can be learnt from a comparison of the cases. The examined cases show how regulatory fragmentation facilitated liberalization or prolonged protectionist policies, how political fragmentation amplified the voices of policy opponents, and how a crisis or a broader political change helped the countries to overcome such resistance. By untangling the dynamics of policy changes, this chapter differentiates between the politics of liberalization and the politics of restructuring, and analyzes how institutional and contextual factors (either political or regulatory) impacted upon both types of politics differently. In addition, the period from the late 1970s to the early 2000s can be characterized as liberal market-oriented, though some moments of restructuring led to regulatory tightening within each country or at the international level. Some of the liberalization elements played a role in fueling financial volatility in the years leading up to the 2008 global financial crisis, as pointed out by the recent literature. By briefly reflecting on this point, this chapter discusses the development and management of the 2008 global financial crisis in the light of what has been said about past regulatory developments and crisis management in the case studies in the preceding chapters.