Stephen Spratt is a director of the new economics foundation, a UK based think tank. Previously he lectured in development finance at the University of Reading, has worked in the City of London’s financial markets and was a researcher at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.

• Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Financial System in Theory and in Practice. Chapter 2: Finance, Poverty, Development and Growth. Chapter 3: Financial Repression, Liberalisation and Growth. Chapter 4: The Domestic Financial System: An Overview. Chapter 5: Reforming the Domestic Financial System: Options and Issues. Chapter 6: The External Financial System: Characteristics and Trends. Chapter 7: The External Financial System (2): Debt and Financial Crises. Chapter 8: The International Financial Architecture: Evolution, Key Features and Proposed Reforms. Chapter 9: Development Finance and the Private Sector: Driving the Real Economy. Chapter 10: Finance for Development: What Do We Know?

"While many authors have previously examined the causes of economic development, few have focused directly and extensively on its relationship with financial systems. Spratt takes his unique angle in his new book, which provides ample coverage of both theory and practice in the field of development finance. … Overall, a valuable reference for scholars and practitioners in this new, emerging field. Highly recommended." -- CHOICE (July 2009); H. A. Faruq, Xavier University