Since the early 1970s, bankers have developed a host of new financial instruments and practices. These innovations have altered the nature of banking, and this in turn has complicated the task of banking regulation. National regulations have become largely ineffective in monitoring the safety...

During the 1980s, economists began to observe a trend of rising income inequality in the advanced industrial economies. At the same time, the data revealed that these economies were becoming increasingly exposed to imports of manufactured goods from developing countries. The question that...