Work Package 2 will explore the many facets of the financial systems in a wide range of countries, from different disciplinary perspectives. It will develop a framework for comparative analysis of finance the financial systems, and financialisation in nation states. The application of this framework in empirical work will yield important new information on national financial systems, their evolution, performance, and possible reform.

The work will feed into WP3 that deals with the causes and consequences of the financial crisis.

The results gained in WP2 and WP3, will inform the work undertaken in WP4 on regulation of the financial sector. There are synergies between the policy aspects of WP4, and WP9 that focuses on macroeconomic policies and the financial sector.

Furthermore, the analyses in WP2 and WP3, will facilitate the work of WP5 in the ways in which the financial system (and the crises thereof) impact on social well-being, and the development of policies towards the financial sector designed to enhance social well-being.

WP5 (on social well-being) and WP6 (on development and governance) have areas of commonality, and the work in each of the work packages will inform the work of the other.

WP6 and WP7 are related in their concerns with sustainable development, and governance structures which are supportive of sustainable finance and sustainable development.

WP7 (on the finance and the environment) would draw on the understandings of the financial system gained in WP2 and WP8.

The structure and ownership of the financial sector, and its impact on the real economy is of particular concern to WP8. The analyses of WP2 and WP3 will again be relevant here, as will the findings of WP5 on social well-being in the sense that WP8 will cover issues of governance and public provisioning.

WP9 on finance and macroeconomic stability would be related with the findings of WP3 (on financial crisis) as well as governance issues from WP6 and WP8.There will be overlaps between the policy aspects of the work packages, in the sense that all will be focused on finding ways to achieve a more sustainable financial system.

WP10 will support the dissemination of the work of all these work packages.

All of the work packages 2 to 9 will be closely related with WP11 on Foresight and WP12 Synthesis and Conclusions.