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Identifying the “financialization” of the nonfinancial corporation in the U.S. economy: A decomposition of firm-level balance sheets

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  • Leila E. Davis

Abstract

This paper develops the concept of the “financialization” of the nonfinancial corporation (NFC) by laying out the key stylized facts describing NFC financial behavior between 1950 and 2014 via a detailed decomposition of firm-level balance sheets. In the existing literature, the concept of the “financialization of the nonfinancial corporation” remains ambiguous; as such, clarification of the trends that have occurred in NFC financial behavior is an important prerequisite for analyses of why NFC behavior has changed and with what consequences. By systematically delineating the evidence for the “financialization” of NFCs, this paper contributes to the literature by establishing precisely how NFC financial behavior has changed in the post-1980 U.S. economy. The growing “financialization” of nonfinancial corporations is summarized by an increased share of financial assets in NFC portfolios, increasing indebtedness and equity repurchases among large firms, and deleveraging among smaller firms. The paper concludes by introducing the behavioral insights gained by approaching these stylized facts from a conceptual standpoint emphasizing the interdependence of portfolio and financing decisions and, thus, the links between the changes in financial behavior across NFC balance sheets.

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  • Leila E. Davis, 2016. "Identifying the “financialization” of the nonfinancial corporation in the U.S. economy: A decomposition of firm-level balance sheets," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 115-141, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:mes:postke:v:39:y:2016:i:1:p:115-141
    DOI: 10.1080/01603477.2015.1116370
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jean Tirole, 2006. "The Theory of Corporate Finance," Post-Print hal-00173191, HAL.
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    Cited by:

    1. Leila Davis & Shane McCormack, 2021. "Industrial stagnation and the financialization of nonfinancial corporations," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 459-491, December.
    2. Sebastiano Cupertino & Costanza Consolandi & Alessandro Vercelli, 2019. "Corporate Social Performance, Financialization, and Real Investment in US Manufacturing Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Joel Rabinovich, 2017. "The financialisation of the nonfinancial corporation. A critique to the financial rentieralization hypothesis," CEPN Working Papers 2017-22, Centre d'Economie de l'Université de Paris Nord.
    4. Céline Baud & Cédric Durand, 2021. "Making profits by leading retailers in the digital transition: A comparative analysis of Carrefour, Amazon and Wal-Mart (1996-2019)," CEPN Working Papers hal-03332318, HAL.
    5. Manuel David Cruz & Daniele Tavani, 2022. "Secular Stagnation: A Classical-Marxian View," Working Papers PKWP2229, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    6. Tori, Daniele & Onaran, Özlem, 2017. "The effects of financialisation and financial development on investment: evidence from firm-level data in Europe," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 16089, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
    7. 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).
    8. Ken-Hou Lin, 2016. "The Rise of Finance and Firm Employment Dynamics," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 972-988, August.
    9. Oyvat, Cem, 2020. "The role of global finance in the provisioning of social infrastructure and the welfare state," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 26750, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
    10. Leila E. Davis, 2017. "Financialization And Investment: A Survey Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1332-1358, December.
    11. Tang, Huoqing & Zhang, Chengsi, 2019. "Investment risk, return gap, and financialization of non-listed non-financial firms in China⁎," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    12. Davies, Clementine, 2021. "Financialisation and rental housing: A case study of Berlin," IPE Working Papers 153/2021, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    13. Eduardo Mantoan & Vinícius Centeno & Carmem Feijo, 2021. "Why has the Brazilian economy stagnated in the 2010s? A Minskyan analysis of the behavior of non-financial companies in a financialized economy," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 529-550, December.
    14. Feng, Yumei & Yu, Qiang & Nan, Xingheng & Cai, Yongbin, 2022. "Can employee stock ownership plans reduce corporate financialization? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 140-151.
    15. Baines, Joseph & Hager, Sandy Brian, 2021. "The Great Debt Divergence and its Implications for the Covid-19 Crisis: Mapping Corporate Leverage as Power," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar.
    16. Wang, Lixia & Hao, Neng & Fang, Hui & Wu, Maoguo & Ma, Xinlei, 2023. "A model for measuring over-financialization: Evidence from Chinese companies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    17. Leila Davis & Joao Paulo A. de Souza, 2022. "Churning and profitability in the U.S. corporate sector," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 924-957, July.

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