The compensation hypothesis predicts a positive causation from international economic openness to the size of the public sector, as governments step in to perform a risk mitigating role to counterbalance the increasing exposure to external risk and the economic dislocations caused by growing...

This paper analyses two main features of the financialisation period, namely: 1) the replacement of the 'originate and hold' banking model with the 'originate and distribute' banking model; 2) the securitisation process of structured finance products. These features have produced remarkable...