A Brief History of Regulations Regarding Financial Markets in the United States: 1789 to 2009 / Alejandro Komai, Gary Richardson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Komai, Alejandro.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Richardson, Gary.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w17443.

NBER working paper series no. w17443

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

A Brief History of Regulations Regarding Financial Markets in the United States

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2011.

Summary:

In the United States today, the system of financial regulation is complex and fragmented. Responsibility to regulate the financial services industry is split between about a dozen federal agencies, hundreds of state agencies, and numerous industry-sponsored self-governing associations. Regulatory jurisdictions often overlap, so that most financial firms report to multiple regulators; but gaps exist in the supervisory structure, so that some firms report to few, and at times, no regulator. The overlapping jumble of standards; laws; and federal, state, and private jurisdictions can confuse even the most sophisticated student of the system. This article explains how that confusion arose. The story begins with the Constitutional Convention and the foundation of our nation. Our founding fathers fragmented authority over financial markets between federal and state governments. That legacy survives today, complicating efforts to create a financial system that can function effectively during the twenty-first century.

Notes:

Print version record

September 2011.