Book review – “Collateral Knowledge: Legal Reasoning in the Global Financial Markets”

This is a rich book, written by Cornell Law School’s Professor Annelise Riles (University of Chicago Press, 2011, xii+295 pages). It is full of ideas and observations drawn partly from extensive fieldwork – particularly in Tokyo over 1997-2001 (p. ix), just as Japan was implementing its “Big Bang” reforms aimed at making its financial markets more “free, fair and global” (p. 120). It deserves careful reading, and re-reading, by those researching Japan as well as those interested in financial markets, regulatory theory, contract law, international commercial law, socio-legal studies and anthropology more generally.

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