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Finance-Dominated Capitalism and Income Distribution: A Kaleckian Perspective on the Case of Germany

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  • Eckhard Hein
  • Daniel Detzer

Abstract

We present an investigation into the long-run effects of financialisation on income distribution before the financial and economic crises for Germany, one of the major mercantilist export-led economies. The analysis builds on a Kaleckian approach towards the examination of the effects of financialisation on income distribution, as suggested by Hein (Camb J Econ. doi: 10.1093/cje/bet038 , 2014a ). First, we show that Germany saw considerable re-distribution of income starting in the early 1980s, which accelerated in the early 2000s, in particular. Examining the three main channels through which financialisation (and neo-liberalism) are supposed to have affected the wage or the labour income share, according to the Kaleckian approach, we provide evidence for the existence of each of these channels in Germany since the mid-1990s, when several institutional changes provided the conditions for an increasing dominance of finance. Copyright Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association) 2015

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  • Eckhard Hein & Daniel Detzer, 2015. "Finance-Dominated Capitalism and Income Distribution: A Kaleckian Perspective on the Case of Germany," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 1(2), pages 171-191, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:italej:v:1:y:2015:i:2:p:171-191
    DOI: 10.1007/s40797-014-0001-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Leonardo Quero Virla, 2023. "An empirical characterization of volatility in the German stock market," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(7), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Detzer, Daniel, 2019. "Financialization made in Germany: A review," IPE Working Papers 122/2019, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    3. Ricardo Barradas, 2019. "Financialization and Neoliberalism and the Fall in the Labor Share: A Panel Data Econometric Analysis for the European Union Countries," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 51(3), pages 383-417, September.
    4. Feiner Solís, Sara, 2021. "The effectiveness and risks of loose monetary policy under financialisation," IPE Working Papers 159/2021, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    5. Eckhard Hein, 2015. "Causes and Consequences of the Financial Crisis and the Implications for a More Resilient Financial and Economic System: Synthesis of FESSUD Work Package 3," Working papers wpaper128, Financialisation, Economy, Society & Sustainable Development (FESSUD) Project.
    6. Dünhaupt, Petra & Hein, Eckhard, 2018. "Financialisation, distribution & the macroeconomic regimes before & after the crisis: A post-Keynesian view on Denmark, Estonia & Latvia," IPE Working Papers 104/2018, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    7. Eckhard Hein & Petra Dünhaupt & Ayoze Alfageme & Marta Kulesza, 2017. "Financialisation and distribution in three main Eurozone countries from a Kaleckian perspective: the US, the UK and Sweden compared – before and after the crisis," Working Papers 9/17, Sapienza University of Rome, DISS.
    8. Daniel Detzer, 2015. "Inequality and the Financial System— The Case of Germany," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 585-608.
    9. Virla, Leonardo Quero, 2021. "An empirical characterization of volatility dynamics in the DAX," IPE Working Papers 167/2021, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    10. Eckhard Hein & Petra Dünhaupt & Ayoze Alfageme & Marta Kulesza, 2017. "Financialisation and distribution in three main Eurozone countries from a Kaleckian perspective: France, Germany and Spain compared – before and after the crisis," Working Papers 8/17, Sapienza University of Rome, DISS.
    11. Hein, Eckhard & Dünhaupt, Petra & Alfageme, Ayoze & Kulesza, Marta, 2017. "Financialisation and distribution in the US, the UK, Spain, Germany, Sweden and France: Before and after the crisis," IPE Working Papers 85/2017, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    12. Herr, Hansjörg, 2018. "Karl Marx's thoughts on functional income distribution - a critical analysis," IPE Working Papers 101/2018, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    13. Hein, Eckhard, 2016. "Causes and consequences of the financial crisis and the implications for a more resilient financial and economic system," IPE Working Papers 61/2016, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Finance-dominated capitalism; Distribution of income ; Kaleckian distribution theory; Germany; D31; D33; D43;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D33 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Factor Income Distribution
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection

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