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 success is attributable to the increasing efficiency of the world's financial institutions as finance has proved to be one of the most important causal factors in economic performance. In a series of insightful essays, financial and economic historians examine how financial innovations from the seventeenth century to the present have continually challenged established institutional arrangements, forcing change and adaptation by governments, financial intermediaries, and financial markets. Where these have been successful, wealth creation and growth have followed. When they failed, growth slowed and sometimes economic decline has followed. These essays illustrate the difficulties of co-ordinating financial innovations in order to sustain their benefits for the wider economy, a theme that will be of interest to policy makers as well as economic historians.

Understanding twenty-first century global financial integration requires a two-part background. The Handbook of Key Global Financial Markets, Institutions, and Infrastructure begins its description of how we created a financially-intergrated world by first examining the history of financial globalization, from Roman practices and Ottoman finance to Chinese standards, the beginnings of corporate practices, and the advent of efforts to safeguard financial stability. It then describes the architecture itself by analyzing its parts, such as markets, institutions, and infrastructure. The contributions of sovereign funds, auditing regulation, loan markets, property rights, compensation practices, Islamic finance, and others to the global architecture are closely examined. For those seeking substantial, authoritative descriptions and summaries, this volume will replace books, journals, and other information sources with a single, easy-to-use reference work. - Substantial articles by top scholars sets this volume apart from other information sources - Diverse international perspectives result in new opportunities for analysis and research - Rapidly developing subjects will interest readers well into the future