The module will examine the causes and consequences of market failures in financial services and markets. We will then discuss the rationale for intervention in financial markets both when this serves to address market failures and when intervention is motivated by other factors. The structure and nature of financial regulation in the UK will be used to illustrate how the principles discussed translate into practice. The rationale for intervention when a firm or market faces a crisis also informs our understanding of the structure and activities of international financial institutions such as the world bank and international monetary fund. The second part of the module will discuss the formation and role of these institutions.

This module will consider why financial firms and markets are subject to specific and often strict regulation. Discussion then moves to consider how international institutions have emerged to co-ordinate or mimic regulation at a national level.