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Theorizing financialization

Author

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  • Costas Lapavitsas

Abstract

The crisis of 2007–9 has cast fresh light on the ascendancy of finance in recent years, a process that is often described as financialization. The concept of financialisation has emerged within Marxist political economy in an effort to relate booming finance to poorly performing production. Yet, there is no general agreement on what it means, as is shown in this article through a selective review of economic and sociological literature. The article puts forth an analysis of financialization that draws on classical Marxism while remaining mindful of the recent crisis. Financialization represents a systemic transformation of mature capitalist economies with three interrelated features. First, large corporations rely less on banks and have acquired financial capacities; second, banks have shifted their activities toward mediating in open financial markets and transacting with households; third, households have become increasingly involved in the operations of finance. The sources of capitalist profit have also changed accordingly.

Suggested Citation

  • Costas Lapavitsas, 2011. "Theorizing financialization," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 25(4), pages 611-626, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:25:y:2011:i:4:p:611-626
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dünhaupt, Petra, 2016. "Financialization and the crises of capitalism," IPE Working Papers 67/2016, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    2. Veldman, Jeroen, 2018. "Inequality, Inc," MPRA Paper 86644, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Costas Lapavitsas & Ivan Mendieta-Muñoz, 2017. "Financialisation at a Watershed in the USA JEL Classification: B50, E10, E44, G20," Working Paper Series, Department of Economics, University of Utah 2017_10, University of Utah, Department of Economics.
    4. Engelbert Stockhammer & Collin Constantine & Severin Reissl, 2020. "Explaining the Euro crisis: current account imbalances, credit booms and economic policy in different economic paradigms," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(2), pages 231-266, April.
    5. Veldman, Jeroen, 2019. "Inequality, Inc," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    6. Gary Slater & David A. Spencer, 2014. "Workplace relations, unemployment and finance-dominated capitalism," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 134-146, April.
    7. 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.
    8. Hanying Qi, 2019. "A New Literature Review on Financialization," Journal of Accounting, Business and Finance Research, Scientific Publishing Institute, vol. 7(2), pages 40-50.
    9. Park, Hyeng-Joon & Doucette, Jamie, 2016. "Financialization or Capitalization? Debating Capitalist Power in South Korea in the Context of Neoliberal Globalization," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 40(3), pages 533-554.
    10. Barthold, Charles & Dunne, Stephen & Harvie, David, 2018. "Resisting financialisation with Deleuze and Guattari: The case of Occupy Wall Street," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 4-16.
    11. Pauline Beau, 2016. "L'influence de la justice organisationnelle sur le stress : le cas du contrôle des performances individuelles dans les grands cabinets d'audit," Post-Print hal-01902416, HAL.
    12. Gregory Jackson, 2016. "Toward a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Institutional Change in Japanese Capitalism: Structural Transformations and Organizational Diversity," Working Papers halshs-01643921, HAL.

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