Field:
    International Political Economy / International Relations

Dissertation Title:
    Market Integration and the Politics of Regulatory Integration: Insights from the Integration of Banking Regulations in the United States, Canada and China

Committee:
    Ronald Rogowski (chair), Arthur Stein, Richard Baum, Jean-Laurent Rosenthal, and Ken Sokoloff (deceased)

Date of Completion:
    September 2006

Contact Information:
    David Johnson
    920 Wright Avenue
    Mountain View, CA 94043
    Phone: (650) 960-1250

Curriculum Vitae:
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Dissertation Summary:
    International relations scholars continue to debate the relative importance of market versus security interests in determining international regulatory arrangements. The limited number of “hard” international regulatory institutions sharpens this debate. To demonstrate that economic interests can and have been significant in driving centralization of regulatory institutions I examine the process of intranational regulatory integration related to commercial banking in three large countries, the United States, Canada and China. In all three cases regionally differentiated financial markets regulated by local government authorities eventually merged into a single national market associated with technological, market and political factors. Weaknesses and costs associated with differentiated local regulation in the national market, including general macroeconomic instability, increased business costs for firms and poor consumer protection, eventual led to the development of political movements in all three countries for centralization of banking regulation under the national government. While fundamental differences exist between national and international political conditions (international regulatory integration cannot be considered inevitable) the findings do suggest a direct correlation between market integration and pressures for centralized regulatory oversight. The growing reliance on standards developed through the Bank for International Settlements since the 1970s, particularly the adoption of “best practice” prudential rules and implementation of Basle II measures by national governments, are a direct representation of this process and will continue as technological developments further integrate international capital markets.

Research Interests:
    International regulatory arrangements, the politics of regulatory change, international financial organization, Chinese political economy, East Asian political economy, links between industry concentration and skill-intensive production, skilled immigration, international monetary arrangements.

Teaching Interests:
    International Political Economy, International Relations, International Organizations, Politics of Regulation, Chinese Politics, East Asian International Relations, Comparative Politics.