ABSTRACT

The new approaches employed by economists to study financial systems are well established even though certain empirical estimations are open to criticism. Approaches such as market-based versus bank-based, law and finance, or politics and finance remain useful tools for in-depth historical analysis today. From a certain point of view, the economic crisis which broke out in 1973 brought about the beginning of financial deregulation, in France as in other countries, but also the reinforcement of direct State subsidies to industry. The economic crisis was in fact a turning point for banking regulation. After the Second World War, despite a constraining financial policy, France was one of the most dynamic economies for thirty years. To conclude on French specificity: State regulation was quite different in Germany, in Britain and in France during the twentieth century; although each economic and financial policy shaped a special financial pattern, economic results were quite convergent from a long-term perspective.