The regional distinctiveness and variegation of financialisation in emerging economies

The world region is missing from financialisation analysis of emerging economies (EEs) with little attention given to regional commonalities or comparative analysis across regions. This article sets out to identify regional commonalities in financialisation experiences across EEs, rooted in domestic institutions and countries’ varying integration into the global financial system. Bringing commonalities within and differences between emerging regions to the fore will help us understand the specificities of their political economies and current capitalist experiences. Based on existing research and data availability, six financialisation indicators across five macroeconomic aggregates are identified. Considering 2008–17, a ranking emerges with the most affected region being Central Easter Europe (CEE), followed by Latin America. Emerging Asia takes an intermediate position while EEs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Africa show limited signs of financialisation. Our analysis identifies distinct regional features. Financialisation in CEE and Latin America is strongly driven by external forces, the key difference being the role that large domestic capitalists play in the process. Across Emerging Asia, financialisation has mainly unfolded in the private sector while state authorities could to some extent insulate public policy. In MENA, much of the private sector appears outside of the reach of financialisation because of the economic and political power of regional conglomerates. In emerging Africa, the phenomenon is concentrated in very few, if intensely affected, financialisation centres. From a theoretical perspective, we find financialisation is driven by a mix of external factors and domestically influential capitalist elites pursuing their interests.