'Monetary policy is not just a matter of optimal stabilization policy; it is also fundamentally a matter of politics. But while this observation is commonplace, it is not adequately incorporated into economists' reasoning and analysis. Gerald Epstein's work represents perhaps the most prominent exception to this last rule. Reading him provides a salutary reminder that we need to pay closer attention to this political aspect when thinking about central banks and what they do.' - Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley, US Central banks are among the most powerful government economic institutions in the world. This volume explores the economic and political contours of the struggle for influence over the policies of central banks such as the Federal Reserve, and the implications of this struggle for economic performance and the distribution of wealth and power in society. Written over several decades by Gerald Epstein and co-authors, these works explore why central banks do what they do, and how they could better operate. Epstein shows that central banks are a contested terrain over which major economic and political groups fight for control; and demonstrates that though in the US and most other countries, private bankers have the upper-hand in this political struggle, they don t always win. Graduate students, faculty and advanced undergraduates in economics, political science and sociology who are interested in central banking and finance as well as specialists who focus on central banking will find greater understanding of central banks through The Political Economy of Central Banking.

Part of the Elgar Series on Central Banking and Monetary Policy, this book explores the relationship between central banking, monetary policy and the economy at large. It focuses on the specific relationship between central banking, monetary policy and the environment as central banks wake up to new realities. The book examines not only the impact of changes in interest rates on the environment, but also the impact that the environment and climate change have on monetary policy. New green policies are proposed for central banks to implement as they move forward and navigate the pitfalls of climate change. Scholars and students interested in central banking, monetary policy and the environment will appreciate this take on Central Banking, Monetary Policy and the Environment.

For academics, regulators and policymakers alike, it is crucial to measure financial sector competition by means of reliable, well-established methods. However, this is easier said than done. This comprehensive Handbook provides a collection of state-of-the-art chapters to address this issue. Using the latest empirical results from around the world, expert contributors offer a thorough assessment of the quality and reliability of the prevalent measures of competition in banking and finance. The Handbook consists of four parts, the first of which discusses the characteristics of various measures of financial sector competition. The second part includes several empirical studies on the level of, and trends in, competition across countries. The third part deals with the spillovers of market power to other sectors and the economy as a whole. Finally, the fourth part considers competition in banking submarkets and subsectors. This Handbook is an essential resource for students and researchers interested in competition, regulation, banking and finance. Politicians, policymakers and regulators will also benefit from the thorough explanation of the need for anti-trust regulation and identification of the most reliable competition measures. Contributors include: A.N. Berger, J.A. Bikker, W. Bolt, J. Bos, Y.L. Chan, P. Coccorese, M.D. Delis, J. Fernandez de Guevara, Z. Fungacova, R. Gropp, I. Hasan, J.P. Hughes, D. Humphrey, L.F. Klapper, S. Kleimeier, C. Kok, S. Kokas, J.W. Kolari, M. Lamers, L. Liu, J. Maudos, L.J. Mester, C.-G. Moon, N. Mylonidis, S. Ongena, B. Overvest, V. Purice, R.J. Rosen, H. Sander, S. Shaffer, L. Spierdijk, D. Titotto, R. Turk-Ariss, G.F. Udell, L. Weill, J. Yuan, M. Zaouras

An Economist Best Book of the Year A Financial Times Best Book of the Year A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year A ProMarket Best Political Economy Book of the Year One of The Week's Ten Best Business Books of the Year A cutting-edge look at how accelerating financial change, from the end of cash to the rise of cryptocurrencies, will transform economies for better and worse. We think we've seen financial innovation. We bank from laptops and buy coffee with the wave of a phone. But these are minor miracles compared with the dizzying experiments now underway around the globe, as businesses and governments alike embrace the possibilities of new financial technologies. As Eswar Prasad explains, the world of finance is at the threshold of major disruption that will affect corporations, bankers, states, and indeed all of us. The transformation of money will fundamentally rewrite how ordinary people live. Above all, Prasad foresees the end of physical cash. The driving force won't be phones or credit cards but rather central banks, spurred by the emergence of cryptocurrencies to develop their own, more stable digital currencies. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies themselves will evolve unpredictably as global corporations like Facebook and Amazon join the game. The changes will be accompanied by snowballing innovations that are reshaping finance and have already begun to revolutionize how we invest, trade, insure, and manage risk. Prasad shows how these and other changes will redefine the very concept of money, unbundling its traditional functions as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value. The promise lies in greater efficiency and flexibility, increased sensitivity to the needs of diverse consumers, and improved market access for the unbanked. The risk is instability, lack of accountability, and erosion of privacy. A lucid, visionary work, The Future of Money shows how to maximize the best and guard against the worst of what is to come.

The New York Times bestseller from business journalist Christopher Leonard infiltrates one of America’s most mysterious institutions—the Federal Reserve—to show how its policies spearheaded by Chairman Jerome Powell over the past ten years have accelerated income inequality and put our country’s economic stability at risk. If you asked most people what forces led to today’s unprecedented income inequality and financial crashes, no one would say the Federal Reserve. For most of its history, the Fed has enjoyed the fawning adoration of the press. When the economy grew, it was credited to the Fed. When the economy imploded in 2008, the Fed got credit for rescuing us. But here, for the first time, is the inside story of how the Fed has reshaped the American economy for the worse. It all started on November 3, 2010, when the Fed began a radical intervention called quantitative easing. In just a few short years, the Fed more than quadrupled the money supply with one goal: to encourage banks and other investors to extend more risky debt. Leaders at the Fed knew that they were undertaking a bold experiment that would produce few real jobs, with long-term risks that were hard to measure. But the Fed proceeded anyway…and then found itself trapped. Once it printed all that money, there was no way to withdraw it from circulation. The Fed tried several times, only to see the market start to crash, at which point the Fed turned the money spigot back on. That’s what it did when COVID hit, printing 300 years’ worth of money in a few short months. Which brings us to now: Ten years on, the gap between the rich and poor has grown dramatically, inflation is raging, and the stock market is driven by boom, busts, and bailouts. Middle-class Americans seem stuck in a stage of permanent stagnation, with wage gains wiped out by high prices even as they remain buried under credit card debt, car loan debt, and student debt. Meanwhile, the “too big to fail” banks remain bigger and more powerful than ever while the richest Americans enjoy the gains of a hyper-charged financial system. The Lords of Easy Money “skillfully” (The Wall Street Journal) tells the “fascinating” (The New York Times) tale of how quantitative easing is imperiling the American economy through the story of the one man who tried to warn us. This is the first inside story of how we really got here—and why our economy rests on such unstable ground.

In this significant new book, Bruna Ingrao and Claudio Sardoni emphasize the crucial importance of considering credit/debt relations and financial markets for a comprehensive understanding of the world in which we live. The book offers both a thorough historical and theoretical reconstruction of how 20th century macroeconomics got (or did not get) to grips with the interactions between banks and financial markets, and the 'real' economy. The book is split into two distinct and thematic parts to expose the different attitudes to banks and finance before and after the Great Depression of the 1930s. Part I explores the period from the turn of the 20th century to the late 1930s, when many important economists devoted great attention to banks and credit relations in their explanations of the working of market economies. Part II discusses the post-war period up until the modern day, when banks and financial markets ceased to be a major concern of mainstream macroeconomics. The 2007-8 crisis gave rise to a renewed interest in credit relations, but many problems inherited from the past still remain open. The authors stress, in particular, the implications of the uneasy, if not impossible, coexistence of the endeavour to set macroeconomics within the framework of general equilibrium theory with the attempt to develop the analysis of the monetary and financial features of actual economies. Macroeconomists will greatly benefit from this timely book as it examines the historical evolution of the discipline, pointing out the major factors that have largely prevented the development of satisfactory analyses of the interrelations of credit, finance and the macroeconomy. Those involved in current economic policy debates will also benefit from the lessons offered in this book.

Banks have a special position in the financial system. Their exclusive link to the central bank puts them at the top of the financial system and enables banks to offer liquidity to the wider economy. They also provide loans and payment services to firms and households. This multifaceted nature of banking makes the economics of banking exciting. This Research Review assembles the best 'banking' papers on all these dimensions and will be invaluable for banking scholars and practitioners.

Anyone trying to understand finance has to contend with the evolving and dynamic nature of the topic. Changes in economic conditions, regulations, technology, competition, globalization, and other factors regularly impact the development of the field, but certain essential concepts remain key to a good understanding. This book provides insights about the most important concepts in finance. Drawing from a broad background in finance, Benton Gup has brought together sixteen chapters written by leading academics and professionals to deal with topics including Bitcoin, cyber security, banking, corporate governance, state vs. private ownership, pension plans, interest rates, multi-asset investing, real estate, US and Islamic banking, and other issues that have a direct impact on the field, its practitioners and scholars trying to make sense of it. This book covers timely issues in a way that academics, regulators, investors, and bankers will find relevant and useable. Contributors include: P. Agrrawal, S. Aliyu, J.R. Barth, J. Brodmann, R.P. DeGennaro, G.P. Dwyer, B. Faulk, W. Faulk, M.J. Flannery, M.B. Frye, T.J. Gallagher, S.B. Guernsey, B.E. Gup, M.K. Hassan, M.A. Hines, J.S. Jahera, Jr., K.N. Johnson, S. Joo, T. Lutton, M.B. McDonald, W.L. Megginson, S.L. Schwarcz

In the Research Handbook on Shadow Banking an international cast of experts discusses shadow banking activities, the purposes they serve, the risks they pose to the financial system, and the wider implications for regulators and the regulatory perimeter. Contributors offer high-level and theoretical perspectives on shadow banking and regulatory risks as well as more detailed explorations of specific markets in shadow banking. With perspectives from the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States, China and Singapore, this Research Handbook discusses a range of wholesale sector shadow banking activities including the rehypothecation of markets, securitisation and derivatives as well as the implications of hedge fund activities for systemic risk. Further topics of discussion include a range of shadow banking activities led by financial and technological innovation, such as online equity and debt crowd-funding, the rise of exchange-traded funds, and the emergence of crypto-currencies and distributed ledger technology. Inter-disciplinary, broad and comprehensive in topic, this Research Handbook will prove to be a one-stop resource for legal academics and practitioners as well as for research students and those participating in the financial industry and trade associations. Contributors include: J.M. Amico, V. Baklanova, S. Bala, I. Chiu, J. Cullen, E. Curtin, P. de Gioia Carabellese, A. Donovan, E. Greene, P. Hanrahan, C. Hofmann, M. Hsiao, C. Johnson, M. Lin, I.G. MacNeil, H. McVea, H. Nabilou, A.M. Pacces, W. Shen, J. Tanega

Gain a thorough insight into the business of banking Introduction to Banking, 3rd edition, by Casu, Girardone and Molyneux offers an in-depth overview of the theoretical and applied issues in the global banking industry. Organised into five sections, it covers contemporary topics in banking, ranging from central banking and bank regulation, to bank management and corporate governance, providing the most up-to-date information on banking practice. The new edition discusses the developments contributing to the rapid transformation of the banking sector, such as digitalisation of banking and emergence of non-bank providers, the growing importance of sustainable banking, the FinTech boom, the impact of Covid-19 on banking services, structural and regulatory changes in the banking industry, and the growth of Islamic banking. Suitable for all undergraduate students taking a course in banking as well as professionals entering this industry, this text also provides background reading for postgraduate students on more advanced topics in banking. "I truly welcome this thoroughly revised edition of the Introduction to Banking textbook. Its authors are world-class scholars who on a daily basis research a wide array of highly relevant banking topics and maintain many close contacts with the commercial and central banking community. I can see no better guides to lead undergraduates into the fascinating (and at times bewildering) banking landscape." Steven Ongena, Professor of Banking, University of Zurich, Swiss Finance Institute and CEPR About the authors: Barbara Casu is the Director of the Centre for Banking Research at Bayes Business School, City, University of London where she is Professor of Banking and Finance. Claudia Girardone is Professor of Banking and Finance, Director of Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) and the Essex Business School's Director of Research. Philip Molyneux is Emeritus Professor at Bangor University. Pearson, the world's learning company

Clearing, Settlement, and Custody, Third Edition, introduces the post-trade infrastructure and its institutions. Author David Loader reduces the complexity of this environment in a non-technical way, helping students and professionals understand the complex chain of events that starts with securities trading and ends the settlement of cash and paper. The Third Edition examines the roles of clearing houses, central counterparties, central securities depositories, and custodians. The book assesses the impact on workflow and procedures in the operations function at banks, brokers, and institutions. In consideration of technological and regulatory advances, this edition adds 5 new chapters while introducing new case studies and updating examples.