This book poses a systematic challenge to Gerschenkron's 1950s thesis on universal banks. With contributions from leading scholars including Ranald Michie and J

Since the nineteenth century, there has been an accepted distinction between financial systems that separate commercial and investment banking and those that do

Collectively, mankind has never had it so good despite periodic economic crises of which the current sub-prime crisis is merely the latest example. Much of this

This collection of essays aims to form a focused, original and constructive approach to examining the question of convergence and divergence in Europe.

Why stable banking systems are so rare Why are banking systems unstable in so many countries—but not in others? The United States has had twelve systemic bank