Emily Jones presented work for 30+ Bank of England officials at the Bank of England research seminar on ‘International banking standards and developing countries: a difficult relationship’, together with Thorsten Beck (Cass Business School).

They explained how, in today’s world of globalised finance, regulators in developing countries have to weigh up the international ramifications of their decisions. Emily presented the results of her research project which combines cross-country panel analysis and in-depth case studies of the political economy of the adoption of Basel standards in the developing world. The research shows that regulators in developing countries do not merely adopt Basel II/III because these standards provide the optimal technical solution to financial stability risks in their jurisdictions; concerns about reputation and competition are also important. Thorsten shared the preliminary findings on the relevance, advantages, and challenges for developing countries from the implementation of Basel III. Emily and Thorsten highlighted the policy implications of their research, underscoring the importance of taking a proportional approach to the implementation of international standards in developing countries, and increasing the representation of developing countries in global standard-setting processes.