Revisiting the regulation of the financial markets in the aftermath of a global financial crisis

Abstract

This thesis undertakes a critical review of the underlying philosophy of financial market regulation, both from a theoretical perspective and in light of the practical regulatory responses to past financial turbulence. Such responses have seen the evolution in the nature, form and extent of financial markets regulation. The thesis will call into question the issue as to whether stricter regulation - or re-regulation - of the markets, while the most obvious response to a crisis, in effect do provide the answer to the avoidance or minimization of future crises. The regulatory tension between the need to ensure investor protection and that of ensuring a fully functioning financial market, particularly in the light of a globalized economy, is discussed in relation to the 2008 financial crisis that plunged the world into recession.