This chapter of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Financial Regulation considers, in broad historical perspective and also with respect to the global financial crisis, why financial systems are crisis-prone and the relationship between financial crises and regulation. It begins with an overview...

Preface -- The post-crisis regulatory landscape : an overview -- Regulatory issues in the aftermath of the crisis -- Financial regulation as a response to corruption and fraud -- The war on regulation : REH, WC, GM and all that -- The efficient market hypothesis as a weapon of mass destruction...

Introduction -- Efficient markets and central banks? -- Money, banks and central banks -- Stable and unstable markets -- Deceiving the diligent -- On (central bank) governors -- Minsky meets Mandelbrot -- Beyond the efficient market fallacy -- Concluding remarks