Financialization and the US Economy (New Directions in Modern Economics series)

Profound transformations have taken place both in the US and the global
economy, especially in the realm of finance. Financial markets and
transactions have been growing continuously in size and in importance
while finance in general has acquired an increasingly prominent position in
the economy. Özgür Orhangazi brings together a comprehensive analysis
of financialization in the US economy that encompasses the historical,
theoretical, and empirical sides of the issues. He explores the origins and
consequences of the dramatic rise of financial markets in the US economy
and focuses on the impacts of this process of 'financialization' on the
operations of the non-financial corporate sector.

The book starts with a brief review of the meaning of financialization, then documents its factual context, before moving on to provide a historical perspective on its evolution and proximate causes. Next, the book compares various theoretical and empirical perspectives in an attempt to clarify the limits of our knowledge and outline what we know about the phenomenon and what we do not. In the second part, the author further explores the relationship between the financial and nonfinancial sectors of the economy and focuses on the effects of financialization on capital accumulation. The author provides a framework for analyzing this relationship and offers evidence that the increase in nonfinancial corporations' (NFCs) financial investment rates and payments to financial markets have had negative effects on the real investment rates of NFCs.

Scholars and students working on the issues of financialization or interested in financial markets, investment, and capital accumulation will find this a valuable addition to their collection, as will the serious general reader who wants to learn more about the causes and effects of the transformation of financial markets.