金融监管殊难为之(上)

Regulating Finance Is Hard to Do (Ⅰ)

是否应该对金融体系和金融机构进行监管,这不仅是一个经济学议题,而且也是一个政治学议题。即便古典自由放任主义和极端自由放任主义流派都否定金融监管的必要性。然而在现实中,由于存在规模经济、范围经济和外部性,金融监管不可或缺。但是,如何实现完美的监管绝非易事,而这正是本文写作的意图,旨在从刻画金融监管背后的经济学和政治学理论入手,厘清金融监管难以恰当实施的症结。

Regulating financial system and financial institutions is not only an economic issue but also a political one.Both classic laissez faire and extreme laissez faire argue that governments should not intervene in financial markets or institutions.In reality,however,it is necessary to have financial regulations in place due to economies of scale and scope,and externalities.Nevertheless,regulating finance effectively is never an easy task.This paper,by describing the economics and politics of financial regulation,explains why regulating finance is so hard to get right.