This book provides an up-to-date overview of the development of the German financial system, with a particular focus on financialization and the financial crisis, topics that have increasingly gained attention since the crisis and the discussion on the secular stagnation started. The authors of the bookeconomists who have conducted extensive research in this areaoffer a perspective on the financial system in the context of its importance for the overall economic system. The book not only provides detailed insights into Germanys financial system; it also takes a broader perspective on finance and connects it with current macroeconomic developments in Germany.
I. Development and structure of the German financial system
1. The historical development of the German financial system
1.1. Introduction
1.2. German industrialisation
1.3. The inter-war period
1.4. The post-war period in West Germany
2. The growth in finance and its role in the decades of financialisation
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Financial assets in the German economy
2.3. Size and activity of banking and financial markets in an international comparison
2.4. Increased financial activity in the German economy
2.5. Financial activities of non-financial corporations
2.6. Changes in household behaviour and balance sheets
2.7. The rise of institutional investors
2.8. Conclusion
3. The structure of the German financial system
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Banks
3.3. Securities markets
3.4. Sh
adow banks
3.5. Conclusion
4. Germl32