The globalisation of financial markets has attracted much academic and policymaking commentary in recent years, especially with the growing number of banking and financial crises and the current credit crisis that has threatened the stability of the global financial system. This major new Research Handbook sets out to address some of the fundamental issues in financial regulation from a comparative and international perspective and to identify some of the main research themes and approaches that combine economic, legal and institutional analysis of financial markets. Specially commissioned contributions represent diverse viewpoints on the financial regulation debate and cover a number of new and controversial topics not yet adequately addressed in the literature. Specifically, these include; financial innovation - particularly in the context of the credit risk transfer market, securitization and the systemic importance of the over-the-counter trading markets; the institutional structure of international financial regulation; and risk management and corporate governance of financial institutions. This Handbook will provide a unique and fully up-to-date resource for all those with an interest in this critical issue - including academic researchers in finance and regulation, practitioners working in the industry and those involved with regulation and policy.