The domestic political origins of global financial standards : Agrarian influence and the creation of U.S. securities regulations.

Abstract

What are the political origins of America’s securities regulations? In contrast to

arguments that point to business owners as determining the institutional foundations of

America’s political economy, this paper argues that farmers play a leading role. Indeed,

the rules and regulations governing U.S. securities markets were created in opposition to

the wishes of business owners, and without farmers’ political influence, the United States

may have developed a variant of the coordinated market economy found in continental Europe. Moreover, to the extent that U.S. securities regulations serve as a template for

international financial standards, the paper will show that the humble American farmer

has inadvertently contributed to the financialization of the modern global economy.