Contemplating the Endgame: An Evolutionary Model for the Harmonization and Centralization of International Securities Regulation
Abstract
In the realm of international securities law, many regulators and commentators are satisfied with simply living in the “now” without thinking about what an ideal system of international securities law should look like and the path to how such a system of law could be achieved. Of course some regulators and commentators are satisfied with the current system of international securities law that has evolved in the past few decades. However, many believe that this model of regulatory competition is simply an unfortunate byproduct of the nationalistic and protectionist attitudes of many nations and a reality that cannot be overcome.
Ideally, the world should adopt an approach to international securities regulation that is similar to the approach used by the United States in response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression. Such a system of international securities regulation would prevent a race-to-the-bottom in international securities law and avoid other collective action problems by creating a floor for regulation and a centralized actor to enforce this baseline system of securities law. The problem, of course, is that this is a drastic and unrealistic proposal in the short-term because of the nationalistic and protectionist tendencies of many securities regulators. Although the emerging global capital markets have begun to fuel the convergence of many business norms, the world does not seem ready for a centralized global securities regulator with robust monitoring, regulatory, and enforcement powers.
In this article, I argue that the harmonization and centralization of international securities law should and must occur through a slow evolutionary process, rather than a rapid revolutionary process, because only under these circumstances will a centralized global securities regulator be able to emerge. Ultimately, anything that fuels the process toward harmonization and centralization of international securities law is a positive, and no single path to such a system of securities law is required. With that stated, however, the world has begun to develop a seamless global capital market. The end of international securities regulation must be to develop a seamless global system of securities law to regulate that market.
Keywords
Financial Crisis, Gobalization, International Law, International Regulation, Markets, SEC, Securities Exchange Commission, Securities, Securities Law, Securities Regulation
Publication Date
2011
Document Type
Article
Publication Information
79 University of Cincinnati Law Review 587 (2011)
Repository Citation
Chaffee, Eric C., "Contemplating the Endgame: An Evolutionary Model for the Harmonization and Centralization of International Securities Regulation" (2011). Faculty Publications. 2235.
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications/2235
