Abstract
The global financial crisis of 2007–08 provided an obvious reason for rethinking finance, its regulation, and benefits for society. Economics experts, in particular, issued policy reports on how to fix the financial system. Whether and how such policy recommendations translated into law is the topic of this article. It introduces a set of theories elaborating on how the legal system may tap social theory in general and economic expertise in particular, arguing for the concept of framing as a focal point. A case study on the Kay Review of UK equity markets tests and illustrates the theory. The study highlights the normative, technical, political, and capture issues that arise all the way down from a specific policy proposal rooted in economic theory and empirical research to the technical details of financial law and concludes with a comment on the current reform efforts of the Financial Conduct Authority on a new consumer duty. Eventually, the case study allows us to reflect on the strengths and limitations of the existing theories of how social theory and law interact and to provide some directions for future research.
Funding source: Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning
Acknowledgments
Thomas Coendet is Shanghai Distinguished Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, KoGuan School of Law; support by the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning is acknowledged. The article derives from a paper I presented at seminars in Hong Kong, Oslo, and Frankfurt. I am grateful to the seminar participants and the fellows at the Center for Advanced Studies on the Foundations of Law and Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt for valuable comments and discussions; with particular thanks to the reviewers of this journal for a very productive peer review process.
List of Cases
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R (British Bankers Association) v Financial Services Authority and another [2011] EWHC 999 (Admin), 2011 Bus LR 1531.Search in Google Scholar
Scandinavian Trading Tanker Co AB v Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana (“The Scaptrade”) [1983] QB 529 (Court of Appeal).Search in Google Scholar
Vallejo v Wheeler (1774) 1 Cowp 143.Search in Google Scholar
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Framing the Law and Policy of Finance
- Conceptualizing Epistemic Power: The Changing Relationship Between Economic Policy Paradigms and Academic Disciplines
- Getting Antitrust and History in Tune
- Juridical Ontologies of Production and the Ricardian Machine
- Book Review
- Intangible Flow Theory: A New Way for Conceptualizing Embeddedness?
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Framing the Law and Policy of Finance
- Conceptualizing Epistemic Power: The Changing Relationship Between Economic Policy Paradigms and Academic Disciplines
- Getting Antitrust and History in Tune
- Juridical Ontologies of Production and the Ricardian Machine
- Book Review
- Intangible Flow Theory: A New Way for Conceptualizing Embeddedness?