Summary

This book is part of the literature that discusses how globalisation -- the increased integration of political and economic exchange over the last couple of decades -- is impacting on democratic nation states. This is an important debate both politically and academically. While acknowledging and classifying the theoretical debate on this issue, the main contribution of this book lies in a careful empirical study of a subject area most affected by the globalisationof financial markets, namely the state regulation of the banking industry. The book contains four detailed case studies and a wealth of empirical information about banking policy in four countries(the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland) since the 1970s.