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460 results
Financialization is one of the most innovative concepts to emerge in the field of political economy during the last three decades, although there is no agreement on what exactly it is. Profiting Without Producing by Costas Lapavitsas puts forth a distinctive view defining financialization in terms of the fundamental conduct of non-financial enterprises, banks and households.
Profiting Without Producing
Economists occupy leading positions in many different sectors including central and private banks, multinational corporations, the state and the media, as well as serving as policy consultants on everything from health to the environment and security. Power and Influence of Economists explores the interconnected relationship between power, knowledge and influence which has led economics to be both a source and beneficiary of widespread power and influence.
Power and Influence of Economists
Political-economic systems define the ways in which the production and distribution of goods and services are organised that shape people’s lives. We live in capitalism, but what does that mean? This essential lecture by Economy Studies helps students develop an understanding of it on the basis of the book Capitalism by Geoffrey Ingham.
Capitalism - Economy Studies
Since the 1980s, the financial sector and its role have increased significantly. This development is often referred to as financialization. Authors working in the heterodox tradition have raised the question whether the changing role of finance manifests a new era in the history of capitalism. The present article first provides some general discussion on the term financialization and presents some stylized facts which highlight the rise of finance. Then, it proceeds by briefly reviewing the main arguments in the Marxian framework that proposedly lead to crisis. Next, two schools of thought in the Marxian tradition are reviewed which consider financialization as the latest stage of capitalism. They highlight the contradictions imposed by financialization that disrupt the growth process and also stress the fragilities imposed by the new growth regime. The two approaches introduced here are the Social Structure of Accumulation Theory and Monthly Review School. The subsequent part proceeds with the Post-Keynesian theory, first introducing potential destabilizing factors before discussing financialization and the finance-led growth regime. The last section provides a comparative summary. While the basic narrative in all approaches considered here is quite similar, major differences stem from the relationship between neoliberalism and financialization and, moreover, from the question of whether financialization can be considered cause or effect.
Financialization and the crises of capitalism
Photo by Kaitlyn Ashley on Unsplash The world is still feeling reverberations from the financial crisis of 2008 foreseen by neither politicians nor economists The history of capitalism has been punctuated by major crises exposing the fragility of our entire economic system How has capitalism despite these ruptures managed to …
The Future of Capitalism
Commons stand for a plurality of practices ‘beyond market and state’ as the famous Commons scholar – and first female noble prize winner of economics - Elinor Ostrom put it. Their practice and theory challenge classical economic theory and stand for a different mode of caring, producing and governing. Within this workshop we want to dive into theory, practice and utopia of Commons following four blocks...
The Future of Commons
How was money actually invented? Where does it come from? In this first episode of a video lecture, Dirk Bezemer from the University of Groningen presents the origins of money and how it's related to debt. It's a basic historical review and you can get an idea of how money is created and how banks work. The following episodes aim at giving an overview of the last debt crisis.
DEBT episode 1: Debt, a great invention
What is money and how does it work? The short film reveals common misunderstandings of where money comes from, explains how money is created by banks and presents consequences of money as credit. The video is part of the campaign positive money, promoting the democratic control over money creation.
What is money?
The author identifies three principal economic phenomena, which are explained: long run productivity growth as the central driver of increasing economic activity, short-term and long-term debt cycles. The latter two are explained to some detailed with reference to money creation, central banking and long term crisis tendencies. With regards to the long run debt cycle, which leads into deleveraging and recession, some policy measures which can smoothen the crisis are discussed.
How The Economic Machine Works
This multimedia dossier is part of the series „Understanding Finance“ by Finance Watch. The dossier focuses on universal banks – banks that pursue commercial and investment banking and points out several problems of those megabanks, especially in the context of the financial crisis (too big to fail).
Splitting megabanks?
The page "Positive Money" gathers text and short videos which explain how money is created by banks by giving loans. It furthermore presents the consequences of this process on housing prices, inequality and the environment and its role in the financial crisis. The dossier is provided by the campaign "Positive Money" which aims at a democratic control over money creation. Besides texts by the campaign, the page makes available links to journal and conference articles on the topic. The page focuses on the banking system of the UK.
Positive Money
For some days, global financial markets are in turmoil. Central banks and governments are dealing with the unfolding crisis on a daily basis with seemingly u...
Replay of the financial crisis of 2008? What is different today, and what to expect?
This paper investigates how the concept of public purpose is used in Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). As a common denominator among political scientists, the idea of public purpose is that economic actions should aim at benefiting the majority of the society. However, the concept is to be considered as an ideal of a vague nature, which is highly dependent on societal context and, hence, subject to change over time. MMT stresses that government spending plans should be designed to pursue a certain socio-economic mandate and not to meet any particular financial outcome. The concept of public purpose is heavily used in this theoretical body of thought and often referred to in the context of policy proposals as the ideas of universal job guarantee and banking reform proposals show. MMT scholars use the concept as a pragmatic benchmark against which policies can be assessed. With regards to the definition of public propose, MMT scholars agree that it is dependent on the social-cultural context. Nevertheless, MMT scholars view universal access to material means of survival as universally applicable and in that sense as the lowest possible common denominator.
Modern Monetary Theory and the public purpose
Central banks have once again proven to be the first line of defense in crisis-ridden times. With their far reaching actions they prevented the world from experiencing a collapse of financial markets on top of the severe health and economic crisis caused by Covid-19.
NextGen Central Banking: Central Banking and Climate change - A new era of monetary financing?
The chapter by the Centre for Economy Studies introduces interdisciplinary economic subdisciplines and their importance for economics education.
Interdisciplinary Economics
The course will teach students to analyze the goals, implementation, and outcomes of economic policy.
Advanced Economic Policy 2
This teaching pack focuses on the practice and real-world activities of central banks. It assumes students have a grasp of basic macroeconomic concepts already, and is therefore most suitable to be used at the end of introductory macro courses, or in more advanced macro or monetary economics courses.
The Practice of Central Banking
A comprehensive account of how government deficits and debt drive inflation
The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level
From the perspective of mainstream theory the effectiveness of monetary policy in bringing down inflation depends on two very important equations the aggregate demand equation and the infamous Phillips Curve Without these it becomes more difficult or rather impossible for central banks to carry out monetary policy and obtain the …
Monetary Policy and the Phillips Curve
This text provides an easy to understand introduction to complexity economics for non-specialist audiences such as bachelor's students.
Think Complexity Economics is too Complicated? Then this is for you.
Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash Networks are ubiquitous in our modern society The World Wide Web that links us to and enables information flows with the rest of the world is the most visible example It is however only one of many networks within which we are situated Our …
Networks
The current global financial system may not withstand the next global financial crisis. In order to promote the resilience and stability of our global financial system against future shocks and crises, a fundamental reconceptualisation of financial regulation is necessary. This reconceptualisation must begin with a deep understanding of how today's financial markets, regulatory initiatives and laws operate and interact at the global level.
Reconceptualising Global Finance and its Regulation
A free online course at Masters-level will enable you to understand the past, present and future role of money in society.
Money and Society
Die Volkswirtschafts-Studierenden von heute sind die Entscheidungsträger*innen und Berater*innen von morgen. Und genau diese Studierenden äußern, wie auch andere, schon länger Kritik an der ökonomischen Lehre.
Bereitet die Volkswirtschaftslehre auf das 21. Jahrhundert vor?
Caring activities are one central element of feminist economists' analysis – also since in particular unremunerated work is a blind spot in mainstream economics and most other economic paradigms. Those focus on the market sphere: activities are considered as productive and as real labour if they are remunerated and market-intermediated. Goods and services are considered as labour if they create a value which can be traded on the market. Feminist Economics remarks that this perspective creates certain dichotomies and consequent devaluations: unproductive – productive; private – public; unpaid – remunerated OR paid less – well paid; female – male; soft work – hard work; caring – rationality.
Reproductive Labour and Care
Feminist economist Nancy Folbre presents a historical analysis of the interrelated development of Patriarchy and Capitalism. She describes the role of women in the reproduction of labour, their “specialization” in care and their changing involvement in the labour market. Folbre argues that capitalism weakens patriarchy but at the same time relies on unpaid caring activities.
Women's Work and the Limits of Capitalism
According to Karl Marx, work should satisfy people and encourage creativity. But the capitalist production, the separation of labour and the exploitation of workers alienates them from their products.
Karl Marx on Alienation
The video gives a short explanation of Max Weber's treatment of the protestant work ethic as the explanatory factor for the development of capitalism.
An Introduction to Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic - A Macat Sociology Analysis
The world is still feeling reverberations from the financial crisis of 2008 foreseen by neither politicians nor economists The history of capitalism has been punctuated by major crises exposing the fragility of our entire economic system How has capitalism despite these ruptures managed to each time resurface more resilient and …
The Global Financial Crisis
Due to the IMF’s focus on gender budgeting, this essay will mainly examine its gender budgeting recommendations as an example of its general inclination towards gender issues and its conception of gender equality. What does the IMF’s focus on gender equality really mean from a critical feminist perspective? What are its main objectives? What does it seek to change and to maintain? What concept or idea of women does it follow and what are the underlying theoretical foundations?
The Gender strategy of the IMF: The way to go towards gender equality or a mere instrumentalisation of feminism?
The book critically engages with various Marxian perspectives on the dynamics on development and social progress It specifically engages with some key words in Marxian theory including Marx s early work on capitalist development and his later works on underdeveloped Russia Lenin s thesis on imperialism as a hurdle for …
Rethinking Development
Smith contends that there is no possible solution to our global ecological crisis within the framework of any conceivable capitalism. The only alternative to market-driven planetary collapse is to transition to a largely planned, mostly publicly-owned economy based on production for need, on democratic governance and rough socio-economic equality, and on contraction and convergence between the global North and South.
Green Capitalism
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