Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Section Information
Section Description Provided by Instructor
International Finance: Law, Money and Banking in the Global Economy

This course has two objectives. The first objective is to provide an introduction to the study and practice of emerging forms of law, finance and regulation in the global economy. The second objective is to use the financial crisis of the past five years as an occasion to consider the changing structure of global finance, some of the key legal and institutional problems revealed by both the crisis and the policy response to the crisis, and the debate about alternatives.

Special emphasis will be placed this term on the sovereign debt and banking crisis in Europe. A major theme will be the relation between the course and content of this crisis and the legal and institutional organization of finance in Europe and in the global economy.

The course is divided into four parts. The first part considers the historical background of the contemporary global financial regime. The second part considers the changing structure of global finance and some of the key legal and institutional building blocks of the emerging global financial order. The third part of the course considers a series of contemporary case studies in financial crisis, contagion and reform. The fourth part of the course considers the debate about the alternative futures of global finance, in light of the comparative case studies.

There are no formal prerequisites for the course. However, prior enrollment in a basic course on corporations, international transactions, financial institutions or securities regulation is recommended. ??The course should be of interest to students planning a career in international legal or financial transactions, as well as for students interested in pursuing policy work in international finance or economic development. ??Course requirements include reading, class participation, and a take-home exam at the end of the term. ?