ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the efforts made by the governments of the advanced countries to respond to shifting economic conditions in the years since the Second World War. It focuses on the capacities of the different governments to intervene selectively to shape industrial outcomes. The chapter deals with the notion that an examination of national financial structures can illuminate the economic strategies of these governments and the political conflicts that accompany industrial adjustment. Individuals and firms hold their financial wealth in some combination of domestic money, domestic interest-bearing assets, and foreign currency-denominated assets. The reallocation involves a change in the stock of various financial assets in the portfolio. The successful handling of financial crises, as well as the consolidation of the Bank for International Settlements -centered regime, is related to the “hegemonic” interests of the United States in the financial sector.
