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Abstract

The notion of financialisation has been around for quite some time. Since its early formulations (e.g. Arrighi 1994; Sweezy 1997; Froud et al 2000; Stockhammer 2004; Epstein 2005; Krippner 2005), a great deal of studies have been published with a view to making sense of the many issues surrounding this topic. Admittedly, a lot of ground has been covered. We have learned that financialisation is about the ‘macro’, the institutional, structural and systemic processes that are associated with it, as well as the ‘micro’, the agencies that are affected by and shape these historical processes through financial practices and innovations that transform not only economies and societies, but also cultures, subjectivities, geographies and more (van der Zwan 2014). Today, the field of financialisation studies cuts across several disciplines and indeed challenges many disciplinary boundaries (Ertürk et al 2008, Mader et al. 2020). Therefore we should not be surprised that the concept of financialisation remains disputed and that perhaps no final agreement will ever be reached on the nature, history and significance of its phenomenon. Opinions will continue to range from viewing financialisation as a ubiquitous force, synonymous with deeply fractured capitalism, to something very specific, linked, but not confined to, a central role of the financial system and risk calculations in everyday life. At this point, a devil’s advocate might ask: whither financialisation? This special issue is organised around the themes of continuity and change in financialisation, and it showcases new research on the frontiers of financialisation and the broader debates surrounding its evolution. It also illustrates the vitality of the debate and the usefulness of concept. In this introduction, we highlight some of the most interesting findings from this special issue, contextualise their contribution and comment on the state of the financialisation debate — its shifting boundaries, (in)coherencies and (dis)continuities in the twenty-first century.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy. This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43253-021-00061-4
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HG Finance
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs > International Politics
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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