Financialization and Macroeconomics: The Impact on Social Welfare in Advanced Economies

This book critically examines the current literature on financialization, focusing on the financialization of non-financial corporations (NFCs) and its potential implications for advanced countries' macroeconomic and financial stability. It proposes new readings of financialization, linking it to the evolution of interest-bearing capital and the credit system. It also develops a conceptual scheme and mathematical model to explain how the tendency in developed countries to place growing shares of social surplus in speculative financial channels can contribute to long-term real stagnation. The book challenges the excessive attention paid to micro-epiphenomena and questions the extent to which financialization represents a change to the present regime of accumulation. It aims to provide insights for scholars interested in understanding the effects of financialization on social welfare in advanced countries.

Format: Hardback
Length: 204 pages
Publication date: 30 December 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Financialization has emerged as a highly contentious and widely debated concept, resulting in a diverse range of perspectives, yet lacking a definitive definition or singular interpretation. This comprehensive book delves into a critical examination of the existing literature on financialization, with a specific focus on the financialization of non-financial corporations (NFCs) and its potential ramifications for the macroeconomic and financial stability of advanced countries.

Beginning with this critical analysis, the book proposes novel interpretations of the financialization process, drawing connections between it on the one hand, to the evolution of interest-bearing capital and the credit system, and on the other hand, to the historical tendencies of monopoly capital towards financial arrangements to govern corporate control. Furthermore, a conceptual framework for interpretation and a mathematical model of corporate portfolio choice are developed to elucidate how the inclination in developed countries to allocate increasing proportions of social surplus into speculative financial channels can contribute to their long-term real stagnation. Additionally, the book emphasizes the undue emphasis often placed on certain micro-epiphenomena that exhibit a fallacy of composition at the macroeconomic level, potentially leading to misunderstandings of the broader trends in capitalist evolution. Furthermore, doubts are raised regarding the extent to which financialization truly signifies a transition to the prevailing accumulation regime.

The book is intended for scholars seeking a deeper understanding of whether financialization represents a fundamental shift in the functioning of capitalist economic systems and the potential consequences it may have on social welfare in advanced countries.

Weight: 444g
Dimension: 163 x 240 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032121307