Law and Finance: The Role of Law and Regulations in Sustaining Financial Markets

2013年“法与金融”国际研讨会将于5月13日在北京召开，此次会议由中国政法大学法和经济研究中心与荷兰METRO联合举办。目前，会议正在征稿过程中，希望有兴趣的老师可以积极投稿。 The goal of the seminar is to explore the role of law and regulations in sustaining financial markets in both developed countries and developing countries, especially the United States, the European Union, and China, from a law and economics perspective. The financial system is praised as “the brain of the economy” by Mishkin. In the absence of a financial system, it is hard or even impossible to transfer idle funds to more efficient uses; new ideas, innovative products, and productive investments will therefore have to be abandoned, and the society will in turn be trapped into status quo. As shown by theory and practice, financial markets cannot function well without the support of a well designed and effectively operating regulatory regime, which can be relied on to correct market failures, reduce transaction costs, and avoid systematic risks. The connection between financial development and legal and regulatory change will be further examined at the seminar with the help of new theoretical tools, such as behavioral approach, and new evidence, such as the financial crisis of 2008. A better understanding of the relationship between law and finance is not only important for the U.S. and EU, who have suffered a lot from the financial crisis of2008, but is also extremely meaningful for China, which is struggling to build a sound institutional infrastructure to govern its increasingly complicated financial system. Scholars from outside and inside China can benefit from their participation not only by discussing the general theory of financial regulation, but also, and more importantly, by comparing the regulatory philosophy and practice of the U.S., EU,and China. This comparative approach will provide opportunities for mutual learning and understanding.