| This dissertation explores the relationship between the structure of domestic financial markets and the extraordinary trend toward financial liberalization policies in less developed countries. It uses the Mexican case to demonstrate: (1) the predominance of state-led financial markets in the early stages of financial development; (2) the role of state-led financial structures in fostering growth-promoting industrial policy; (3) the break-down, over time, of state-led financial structures and their replacement with bank-dominated structures; and (4) the role of bank domination, grupos (large conglomerates that combine both financial and industrial capital), and governmental inability to control inflation in promoting a political process conducive to financial liberalization. This thesis contributes theoretically and empirically to a small but growing literature on the politics of financial policy. |
