Given the strength of ideas in fostering growth, it is a pity that we pay insufficient attention to it. Let us not forget Marie Curie’s advice, “be less curious about people and more curious about ideas”.
Despite the enthusiasm for the financial supermarket in the early 1980s, by the end of the decade the concept had stagnated, and the press instead reported the benefits of specialization and the provision of niche services. I believe this past experience with business conglomerates in the US should temper our views of the inevitability of today’s financial conglomerates.