Remodelling Financial Markets Using Bounded Rationality, Economics, Financial Information Intermediaries and Government Intervention

There is increasing recognition of the importance of consumer financial markets in the greater scope of global financial markets. In the recent past, this importance has been particularly amplified by the contribution of household debt and personal bankruptcy on the Global Financial Crisis which began 2007. To this end, this area of research has become topical among scholars, policymakers and legislators as they apply themselves towards finding a ‘silver-bullet’ solution. A plethora of studies have been conducted on the issue. However, the general trend in approach adopted by most of these studies has resulted in recommending piece-meal solutions. The conviction is that a more comprehensive, birds-eye-view approach is required if any meaningful strides are to be gained in resolving this problem. This paper contributes to the literature by proposing a theoretical framework that merges the different theoretical angles from the extant literature. In particular, the proposed model suggests that the theoretical underpinnings of economic theory and psychological paradigm, combined with the macro factors of government intervention strategy and financial information intermediaries provide pillars required for the remodelling of consumer financial markets. It is only through a good understanding of the interrelations that exist among these factors can consumer financial markets be remodelled with a view to enhance the performance and efficiency of the greater financial markets.