Following years of control and regulation, the past ten years have seen a massive trend toward the liberalization of financial markets. This volume analyzes this process and considers likely future developments. It contains papers on the behavior of households and firms, stock, bond and currency markets, and the behavior and performance of financial intermediaries, particularly banks. The topics examined range from the demand for personal and corporate credit and the allocation of savers' wealth, to innovations in securities and services traded in financial markets, and their regulation.