Financialisation In Crisis

The turmoil of 2007-2009 is a crisis of financialised capitalism. This collected volume analyses financialisation by drawing on Marxist and heterodox theory of finance. It examines domestic and international aspects of financialisation, placing the crisis in its appropriate social context.

The turmoil of 2007-2009 is a crisis of financialised capitalism, and for this reason it is systemic and unusual. The crisis commenced in the sphere of finance, spread to production, and then became a world recession. Its unusual character is apparent since never before has a global economic crisis been triggered by banks lending to workers to buy houses. Moreover, state intervention to forestall the crisis becoming a major depression has been unprecedented. This book brings together several well-known political economists to analyse the domestic and international aspects of financialisation, thus putting the crisis in its appropriate context. It draws on Marxist and other heterodox economics to cast light on the broader implications of financialisation and crisis for society.

Since the 2007 financial crisis, discussion on issues related to the size, spread and frequency of financial crises has captivated a wide variety of audiences. Why has the world economy experienced such a marked increase in financial transactions and private and public indebtedness since the 1980s? How have middle-income developing countries suddenly become a part of this dynamic? And, most importantly, how has the topic of financial crises been featured in households’ daily discussions in both developed and developing parts of the world? Domna Michailidou addresses the questions above through exploring the inexorable evolution of financialisation into financial crisis through the examination of three middle-income countries: Mexico, Brazil and South Korea. Concentrating on emerging economies, and especially choosing three very different economies that all experienced financial crises in the 1990s, this book explores what lessons can be learnt regarding financial fragility, volatility and failure in the wake of capital market liberalisation.

The contributions to this book provide detailed accounts of the long-term effects of financialisation and cover the main developments leading up to and during the crisis in 11 selected countries: the US, the UK, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Italy, France, Estonia, and Turkey. The introductory chapter presents the theoretical framework and synthesizes the main findings of the country studies. Furthermore, the macroeconomic effects of financialisation on the EU as a whole are analysed in the final chapter.

Bringing together well-known political-economists this volume puts the crisis into perspective by analyzing the domestic and international aspects of financialisation.

The contributions to this book provide detailed accounts of the long-term effects of financialisation and cover the main developments leading up to and during the crisis in 11 selected countries: the US, the UK, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Italy, France, Estonia, and Turkey. The introductory chapter presents the theoretical framework and synthesizes the main findings of the country studies. Furthermore, the macroeconomic effects of financialisation on the EU as a whole are analysed in the final chapter.

Since the 2007 financial crisis, discussion on issues related to the size, spread and frequency of financial crises has captivated a wide variety of audiences. Why has the world economy experienced such a marked increase in financial transactions and private and public indebtedness since the 1980s? How have middle-income developing countries suddenly become a part of this dynamic? And, most importantly, how has the topic of financial crises been featured in households’ daily discussions in both developed and developing parts of the world? Domna Michailidou addresses the questions above through exploring the inexorable evolution of financialisation into financial crisis through the examination of three middle-income countries: Mexico, Brazil and South Korea. Concentrating on emerging economies, and especially choosing three very different economies that all experienced financial crises in the 1990s, this book explores what lessons can be learnt regarding financial fragility, volatility and failure in the wake of capital market liberalisation.

There can be no doubt that the influence of the financial sphere has intensified rapidly in recent years, but there is much debate about the effect of that influence. The aftermath of the Financial Crisis has led to numerous discussions of the phenomenon of so-called financialization: the increasing impact of financial institutions on the activity of all business entities; emerging threats related with dynamically developing financial markets and the growing importance of financial themes. In light of these issues, which appear in all economies and touch all entities and every area of economic activity, there is a need for a summary and evaluation of the role of financialization in the world today. This monograph presents the role of financialization in the modern world. It shows positive as well as negative effects of financialization on the stability of the whole economy, the functioning of different types of markets, activity of enterprises, state institutions and behaviours of households. Written by expert contributors, this book plays an important role in the debate concerning future directions of development of the financial sector and financial markets. Financialization and the Economy is of great importance to those who study political economy, macroeconomics and banking.