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Financial Systems: Introduction and Summary

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The Financial Systems of Industrial Countries

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Abstract

For good or for bad, finance has a pervasive role in modern economies. Understanding the functioning and evolution of financial markets and intermediaries and their interconnections with the real world is an old theme in economics, but one that needs continuous updating to keep pace with financial innovation on one side and the development of new statistical tools for their analysis on the other. This introductory chapter gives an overview of how interest in understanding the financial aspects of the economy has fluctuated considerably in the past, before reaching centre-stage in recent years. It also argues that the clarity of the macroeconomic picture of a country’s financial structure offered by its financial accounts is difficult to match, and it illustrates the thread connecting the essays included in the rest of the book. The key message is that financial accounts can be a powerful tool for understanding the structure and the weaknesses of financial systems.

We would like to thank Alfredo Gigliobianco, Riccardo Massaro, and Ignazio Visco for their comments on a previous version. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the Bank of Italy or of the Eurosystem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bank of Italy, Economics, Research and International Relations, Rome, Italy

    Riccardo De Bonis

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche Gestionali e Sociali, Università degli Studi del Molise, Campobasso, Italy

    Alberto Franco Pozzolo

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  1. Riccardo De Bonis
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  2. Alberto Franco Pozzolo
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Correspondence to Riccardo De Bonis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Economic and Financial Statistics, Bank of Italy, via Nazionale, Rome, 00184, Italy

    Riccardo De Bonis

  2. , Science Economiche Gestionali e Sociali, Università degli Studi del Molise, via de Sanctis, Campobasso, 86100, Italy

    Alberto Franco Pozzolo

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De Bonis, R., Pozzolo, A.F. (2012). Financial Systems: Introduction and Summary. In: De Bonis, R., Pozzolo, A. (eds) The Financial Systems of Industrial Countries. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23111-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23111-7_1

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