This accessible work provides critical analysis and context to international capital markets, their regulation and their institutions. It is written from a comparative and international perspective and analyses regulatory approaches in the US, UK and EU as well as smaller markets engaging in successful innovation. Divided into four sections, the book presents a comprehensive and easily accessible volume drawing the field of international capital markets regulation and institutions together: Part one examines the characteristics of capital markets, the basic principles of their regulation and their institutions, competing regulatory goals, regulatory techniques, and current issues such as the delineation of regulated and unregulated markets, regulatory competition and arbitrage, stratification of markets, and convergence and divergence of regulatory regimes. Part two looks at the regulatory characteristics and issues in a number of different, significant markets including the US, UK, EU and Asia, and examines how these interact with each other. Part three considers market institutions, trading venues, and intermediaries. The last section examines and explains the central and changing role of the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the capital market activities of international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and The World Bank. This single volume presents a conceptual overview of the regulatory landscape and an understanding of the background and operation of the non-domestic regulation in this area, making it a comprehensive yet accessible resource for practicing lawyers, bankers, regulators, academics and postgraduate students interested in international capital markets