Financialisation Working Group

About

Financialisation has become a keyword in political economy since the 2007-2008 financial crisis, with various and sometimes competing definitions. Although there is not a consensus within the field in terms of defining financialisation as a multi-dimensional concept, the common feature of financialisation studies has been the critical analysis and evaluation of the increasing importance of finance in the contemporary world.

Our aim is to promote financialisation as a topic of academic inquiry within political economy and other social sciences in line with IIPPE objectives. For that purpose, the IIPPE financialisation working group is an inter-disciplinary discussion platform for researchers who pose the questions below:

  • Theoretical aspects of financialisation: How should we conceptualise the nature of financialisation? How to locate it analytically within theories of money and finance, as well as within broader political economy and society?
  • Financialisation as an empirical observation: What are they key empirical manifestations of financialisation? How do the recent observations within the financial markets, such as the growth of financial sector, the sophistication of financial assets and activities, increasing importance of stock markets and shareholders, asset price bubbles, help us understand the phenomenon?
  • The impacts of financialisation: What are the impacts of these developments on distribution, growth, social reproduction and other political economy related issues?
  • Policy implications and responses: What policies are conducive to minimising the negative impacts of financialisation?

As a working group, we aim to provide a network for discussion around such questions, through the annual IIPPE conference and other public activities. In order to find more information about our current events, please follow our webpage or sign up to our Google group.

Working group coordinators

  • Bruno Bonizzi is Associate Professor at the University of Hertfordshire, Business School (See the link for contact and bio)
  • Philip Mader is Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (See the link for contact and bio)
  • Ezgi B. Unsal is Lecturer in Economics at SOAS, University of London (See the link for contact and bio)