New Book: Politics and Banking

Posted by on December 6, 2002

[Community Development Banking listserv]

Politics and Banking: Ideas, Public Policy, and the Creation of Financial Institutions
by Hoffmann, Susan
Published: Johns Hopkins University Press, 10/01/2001
ISBN 0801867029

Susan Hoffmann retraces the familiar thread of US political history and its impact on the development of banking institutions focused through the lens of public philosophies – classic liberalism, utilitarianism, progressivism, and populism. It’s a line of thought that yields many insights, and well written too.

From the Publisher
“This is a wonderful book. Clearly, carefully, and thoughtfully written, it presents a compelling view about the importance of ideas in the construction of the various financial sectors of the United States. The author succeeds in showing how the political philosophies of those involved in the financial policy process influenced the financial institutions that developed through that process. The scholarship is broad-ranging and sound. It provides an original contribution to the political economy field: few political scientists have paid much attention to American financial institutions, and few economists have focused on the political philosophies underpinning the financial system.”?Mark Carl Rom, Georgetown University