The United Kingdom has been at the epicentre of the global financial crisis erupting in 2007. The City of London’s global interconnectedness as well as the long-established culture of regulatory self-independence triggered a near meltdown in the British banking system. Next to the immediate consequences for the British economy as a whole, the financial crisis led to a fundamental change of direction in national economic policies and destabilized a system of politics that had governed financial regulation in the UK for over two decades. The Thatcher administration had replaced the decaying manufacturing industry with a finance-led service sector and hence made the City of London the centrepiece of a self-ruling world based on the principles of privatisation and deregulation. The banking crash in September 2007, however, destroyed the illusion that an economic system which relied on light-touch financial regulation to promote the international competitiveness of the City was competent at the job of securing financial stability. The scale and prolonged effects of the financial crisis provided the central backdrop to the general election in May 2010.
The financial crisis spurred ad-hoc policy responses around the globe and energized efforts to strengthen financial regulation. Instead of focusing solely on the change of policy in financial supervision, the thesis analyses the developments in the public debate on post-crisis banking regulation that has accompanied the general election in 2010.The public opinion is the determinant factor for the ability to win elections – hence politicians must be concerned with the mobilisation of support support for their respective electoral programs. The near collapse of the global banking system destroyed the public confidence in governmental capacities to cope with the effects of the financial crisis. The challenge governments are facing today is not only to find more effective economic policies but to articulate moral visions capable of restoring their legitimacy in difficult times. In the UK, the search for a new legitimizing narrative to restore public confidence in the state as well as market power characterised the electoral campaign of all three major parties. The thesis investigates how the change of government in May 2010 has been perceived by the public and whether a potential replacement of the pre-crisis economic paradigm in favour of a new leitmotif in banking regulation has been the subject of public debate.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Case – British Economic Policy and the City of London
2.1 Patterns of British Economic Policy – The Conservative Experiment of Margaret Thatcher
2.2 Labour’s Ideological Change of Course
3. Theoretical Framework – Ideas in the Economic Policy-Making Process
3.1 Who Influences the Policy-Making Process? – State-Centric vs. Pluralist Views
3.2 The Media as Marketplace for Economic Ideas
3.3 Operationalization of the Research Question
4. Research Methodology
4.1 Definition: Content Analysis as Empirical-Scientific Method
4.2 Case Selection
4.3 Units of Analysis
5. Data and Analysis
5.1 Which topics are emphasized by which newspapers? What were the main topics before and after the election (Q1)?
5.2 Which actors determined the public agenda before and after the election? Did the newspapers provide a forum especially for conservative, liberal, etc. actors (Q2)?
5.3 Which contents were ascribed to the respective parties in the news coverage? What were their main arguments pro and contra banking regulation and have they changed after the election (Q3)?
5.4 Did the newspapers simply express the arguments of different actors or did they articulate additional ideas and arguments (Q4)?
5.5 Did the newspaper’s political orientation influence the news coverage? How much space did the different newspapers dedicate to the topic before and after the election (Q5)?
6. Regulatory Change – What Happened After the Election?
6.1 Institutional Reform – The New Financial Regulatory Architecture
6.2 Structural Reform – The Independent Commission on Banking
7. Reflection & Discussion
Objectives and Core Themes
This thesis investigates how the change of government in the United Kingdom in May 2010 impacted the public debate surrounding post-crisis banking regulation. By employing a media analysis of four national daily newspapers, the work seeks to determine if the pre-crisis consensus—characterized by light-touch regulation and the City of London’s prioritization—was replaced by a new, legitimizing narrative or leitmotif in response to the global financial crisis.
- The role of economic ideas in policy-making and the concept of social learning within political discourse.
- The agenda-setting function of the media as a marketplace for economic ideas during an election period.
- The institutional and structural regulatory shifts in the UK financial sector post-2010.
- Comparative analysis of political party positions and their representation in the press.
- The influence of newspaper political orientation on news coverage and public debate.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
The United Kingdom (UK) has been at the epicentre of the global financial crisis erupting in 2007. The City of London’s global interconnectedness as well as the long-established culture of regulatory self-independence that had governed the financial industry for decades triggered a near meltdown in the British banking system in late 2008 and the country’s first recession in 17 years. Next to the immediate consequences for depositors and the British economy as a whole, the financial crisis led to a fundamental change of direction in national economic policies and destabilized a system of politics that had governed financial regulation in the UK for over two decades (cf. Johal, Moran & Williams 2012).
In 1979, the Thatcher administration replaced the decaying manufacturing industry with a finance-led service sector and hence made the City of London the centrepiece of a self-ruling world based on the principles of privatisation and deregulation. During the following period of economic boom stretching from 1986 to the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2007, the British banking sector was commonly pictured as ‘the goose laying the golden eggs’ (Haldane 2009:1). The banking crash in September 2007, however, destroyed the illusion that an economic system which relied on light-touch financial regulation to promote the international competitiveness of the City was competent at the job of securing financial stability.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the financial crisis of 2007/2008 and its impact on the British regulatory system, establishing the core research question regarding the shift in public debate on banking regulation during the 2010 general election.
2. The Case – British Economic Policy and the City of London: The chapter traces the historical development of British economic policy from the Thatcher era to the Labour government, emphasizing the interconnectedness of political and economic forces in maintaining the City of London's dominance.
3. Theoretical Framework – Ideas in the Economic Policy-Making Process: This section presents the theoretical basis, utilizing Peter A. Hall’s concepts of policy paradigms and social learning to analyze how ideas influence economic policy-making through state-centric, economist-centric, and coalition-centric approaches.
4. Research Methodology: This chapter details the research design, specifically the use of quantitative and qualitative content analysis of four British newspapers, and explains the criteria for case selection and units of analysis.
5. Data and Analysis: This empirical core systematically examines media coverage on post-crisis banking regulation, exploring topic emphasis, the role of different actors, and how party positions were portrayed before and after the election.
6. Regulatory Change – What Happened After the Election?: This chapter complements the media analysis with a document-based examination of the actual institutional and structural reforms, such as the creation of new regulatory bodies like the PRA and FCA, implemented by the coalition government.
7. Reflection & Discussion: The final chapter synthesizes the main findings, discusses the limitations of the study, and evaluates whether a paradigm shift in the public debate on banking regulation actually occurred.
Keywords
United Kingdom, Financial Crisis, Banking Regulation, Public Debate, General Election 2010, Media Analysis, Content Analysis, Economic Policy, City of London, Regulatory Reform, Institutional Change, Policy Paradigms, Financial Services Authority, Bank of England, Coalition Government
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary objective of this thesis?
The thesis investigates whether the 2010 general election in the UK and the subsequent change of government triggered a fundamental shift in the public discourse regarding banking regulation in the wake of the 2007 financial crisis.
What are the central thematic fields covered in this research?
The research focuses on the intersection of economic policy-making, media agenda-setting, and institutional regulatory change within the British financial sector.
Which scientific methodology is utilized in this study?
The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative content analysis of four British daily newspapers with a document-based analysis of government regulatory reforms.
What topics are addressed in the main part of the work?
The main sections cover the historical development of British economic policy, the theoretical framework of ideas in policy-making, an extensive empirical analysis of media coverage, and an evaluation of the legislative changes introduced by the coalition government.
How does the author define the media's role in this context?
The author views the media as a "marketplace for economic ideas" that acts as an intermediary, setting the political agenda and influencing public opinion on how the financial sector should be regulated.
Which key terms best characterize the research?
Key terms include post-crisis banking regulation, the 2010 UK general election, content analysis, agenda-setting, and institutional reform.
Why did the author choose to focus on the 2010 election specifically?
The 2010 election served as a pivotal moment where the failure of the pre-crisis consensus necessitated new political narratives and regulatory regimes to restore public trust in the state and the financial system.
How did the newspapers differentiate in their coverage of the election?
The newspapers' reporting aligned largely with their traditional political allegiances, with some outlets providing more significant forums for specific party platforms or professional expert advice compared to others.
What was the outcome regarding the Independent Commission on Banking?
The commission served as an "outside marketplace" for economic ideas, effectively bridging the gap between divergent political views within the coalition government regarding structural banking reform.
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- Katja Philipps (Autor:in), 2013, Paradigm Shift or Groundhog Day?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/233308
