Banking on privilege : the politics of Spanish financial reform

'This is a remarkable book, engrossing and exceptionally well organized. The argument is clear, elegant, and subtle. My guess is that Banking on Privilege will quickly earn a place as one of the standards of comparative political economy.'-Peter McDonough, Arizona State University 'This wonderfully researched study of the mutual accommodation between private and central bankers in Spain offers a compelling alternative to state and market-driven conceptions of financial regulation and reform. The author's careful theoretical crafting and mastery of historical detail assures this book a place beside the works by Zysman, Loriaux, Woo, and a few others on a narrow shelf of essential texts about the comparative political economy of financial systems. No serious observer of financial and monetary reform in Europe can afford to ignore this impressive book.'-Mauro F. Guillen, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania 'This is a thoroughly researched and meticulously argued piece of scholarship that contributes much substance to our knowledge of finance and financial reform in other countries and brings many provocative ideas to theoretical debate.'-Michael Loriaux, Northwestern University This historically-informed account of the politics of domestic financial liberalization in Spain since the 1970s challenges the assumption that international market forces alone can explain reforms. The author contends that reform was driven by a specific political agenda within the central bank.