Abstract
A comparison of banking politics in Britain and the United States is offered as a contribution to the debate about business power under market capitalism, particularly in the light of Lindblom's picture of business as a privileged interest. Important differences are noted between British and American banking. Contrasts in industrial structure, forms of interest representation and methods of regulation are stressed particularly. Convergence between the two systems in recent decades is described, and is attributed to the way innovation in markets destroys public controls and creates common problems for regulators. The experience of banking markets thus confirms much of Lindblom's argument. But regulation, and thus public control, is also shown to play a decisive part in shaping business behaviour.
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