Deregulation of financial markets and the risk of financial crises: Lessons from Sweden for China and other emerging economies
Fromlet, Hubert (03.12.2014)
Numero
15/2014Julkaisija
Suomen PankkiBank of Finland
2014
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:bof-201412123382Tiivistelmä
During and after the Central Committee’s Third Plenum in November 2013, China announced far-reaching reforms in the spheres of marketization and economic deregulation that included financial markets. While the speed of the rollout of China’s planned reforms is still unknown, officials repeatedly reference the great opportunities for guiding China onto a healthier, more sustainable social and economic track. The risks of such ambitious marketization and deregulation plans need to be considered in the context of speed and sequencing of reforms of the financial sector.
We currently lack the skills for overcoming the famously low predictability of financial crises. The areas for skill improvement largely relate to market psychology (behavioral finance) and the understanding of history and macrofinancial aggregates. The much-undervalued discipline of behavioral finance has started to come into its own over the past 10 to 15 years, including the awarding of the 2013 Nobel Prize Robert in Economics to Robert Shiller for his efforts at understanding the psychology of financial markets. This year’s Nobel Prize winner, Jean Tirole, also considers behavioral aspects in his work.
Sweden has had two serious banking crises in the past 30 years. The first – and most serious – crisis occurred in the early 1990s, while a smaller crisis took place at the end of the last decade. Both were foreseeable. The first crisis emerged as Swedish banking entered uncharted deregulation waters, a situation Chinese reformers will themselves inevitably confront. Swedish research findings with respect to sequencing, speed of reforms and behavioral finance apply nicely to the Chinese discussion.
The italicized discussion focuses on what the Swedish deregulation experience means for Chinese policy choices, but most of these observations are generally relevant for policymakers in emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere. Publication keywords: financial deregulation, Asia, Sweden
We currently lack the skills for overcoming the famously low predictability of financial crises. The areas for skill improvement largely relate to market psychology (behavioral finance) and the understanding of history and macrofinancial aggregates. The much-undervalued discipline of behavioral finance has started to come into its own over the past 10 to 15 years, including the awarding of the 2013 Nobel Prize Robert in Economics to Robert Shiller for his efforts at understanding the psychology of financial markets. This year’s Nobel Prize winner, Jean Tirole, also considers behavioral aspects in his work.
Sweden has had two serious banking crises in the past 30 years. The first – and most serious – crisis occurred in the early 1990s, while a smaller crisis took place at the end of the last decade. Both were foreseeable. The first crisis emerged as Swedish banking entered uncharted deregulation waters, a situation Chinese reformers will themselves inevitably confront. Swedish research findings with respect to sequencing, speed of reforms and behavioral finance apply nicely to the Chinese discussion.
The italicized discussion focuses on what the Swedish deregulation experience means for Chinese policy choices, but most of these observations are generally relevant for policymakers in emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere. Publication keywords: financial deregulation, Asia, Sweden