Financial Levers in the Management of the Economy

Abstract

The obvious, sometimes very powerful influence of the state's fiscal actions on various aspects of economic life long ago suggested the idea of controlling this effect. For this reason the development of financial institutions is marked by heterogeneity of goals: while initially performing a financial function, they subsequently expand and alter their functions. Particularly illustrative in this respect is the evolution of customs duties, which have been transformed from a purely fiscal device into the instrument of active economic policy. Many other financial institutions have undergone a similar metamorphosis, albeit to different degrees.