The american power and otc derivatives markets’ political economy prior to the 2008 crisis

Abstract

The article raises the question of why regulatory dissent in over-the-counter derivatives market reach such a political relevance in the United States in the periods before the 2008 crisis. From that political issue it becomes imperative to search what is the inherent relation between the American financial market and its regulation to the U.S. state power, picking the over-the counter (OTC) derivatives market as a case study. The aim is to analyze how banking activities in that non-regulated market express a central economic importance for the dollar as a hegemonic currency that results in a political-strategic relevance for the American state, which is clearly observed in the intransigent defense of regulatory exemptions for the OTC derivatives market made by high American officials.