Finance Capitalism and Income Inequality in the Contemporary Global Economy: A Comparative Study of the USA, South Korea, Argentina and Sweden

Description

This book explores the causes of rising income inequality within industrialised, developing, and emerging economies. The development of finance capitalism over the last 40 years is charted to highlight how the neoliberal restructuring of national and global economies has driven income inequality. With case studies from the USA, South Korea, Argentina, and Sweden, a comparative analysis is presented to reveal how financialisation facilitates uneven capital accumulation and generates conditions that increase income inequality. This book aims to outline an analytical framework for a financialisation-induced income inequality nexus. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in the political economy and financial economics. Foreword References Preface Acknowledgements Contents About the Author List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction: The Political Economy of Rising Income Inequality 1.1 Income Inequality: Tendencies and Characteristics of Finance Capitalism 1.2 Some Definitions and Why Inequality Matters 1.3 Bringing Income Inequality Studies Back into Political Economy References Chapter 2: The Global Debate on Finance Capitalism 2.1 The Political Economy Context: Neoliberalism as a ‘New Old Phase’ of Capitalism and Transnational ‘Thought Collective’ 2.2 The Crisis of Capital Accumulation and the Restoration of Class Power 2.3 The Emergence of the New Global Financial Order 2.4 Finance Capitalism and Financialisation: Neoliberal Regimes of Income Accumulation References Chapter 3: How to Study Inequality of the Finance Capitalism Era 3.1 Some Epistemological Caveats: Critical Realism for Understanding Finance Capitalism 3.2 Inadequacy of Mainstream Economics Orthodoxy and Its Methods 3.3 A Pluralist Framework: Synthesising Critical Realist-Oriented Causal-Processual Explanations with Heterodox Traditions 3.4 Analytical Framework: Developing Financialisation-Induced Income Inequality Hypothesis References Chapter 4: USA: The Birth of Finance Capitalism 4.1 Neoliberal Turn and Income Inequality in the USA 4.1.1 Ideas and Institutions 4.1.2 From Ideas to Policies 4.1.3 The Level of Income Inequality: 1980–2010 4.2 Analytical Construct #1: The Evolution of the US Financial Sector 4.3 Analytical Construct #2: Dynamics in the Financial Sector Profit Rates and Labour’s Share of Income 4.3.1 Increased Financial Profits 4.3.2 Decreased Labour’s Income Share 4.4 Analytical Construct #3: Rental Income from Financial Assets and Private Debt 4.4.1 Rising Rental Income 4.4.2 The Level of Household Debt References Chapter 5: South Korea: Transforming National Model 5.1 Domestic and Global Political Economy Context 5.2 From Developmentalism to Neoliberalism and Rising Income Inequality 5.2.1 The First Stage of the Neoliberal Turn: Decline of Profit and Democratisation 5.2.2 The Global Financial Order: Wall Street-Federal Reserve-IMF Complex 5.2.3 The Second Stage of the Neoliberal Turn: Financial Crisis of 1997 and IMF Reforms 5.2.4 The Level of Income Inequality: 1980–2010 5.3 Analytical Construct #1: The Evolution of the Korean Financial Sector 5.4 Analytical Construct #2: Dynamics in the Financial Sector Profit Rates and Labour’s Share of Income 5.5 Analytical Construct #3: Rental Income from Financial Assets and Private Debt References Chapter 6: Argentina: Entrenching Income Inequality 6.1 Implanting Neoliberalisation and Entrenching Income Inequality 6.1.1 From ISI to Hyperinflation-Debt Crisis to Structural Adjustment to Convertibility Regime-Debt Crisis 6.1.2 The Convertibility Regime: Hyperinflation, Finance Capital and the Wall Street-Federal Reserve-IMF Complex 6.1.3 The Level of Income Inequality: 1980–2010 6.2 Analytical Construct #1: The Evolution of the Argentine Financial Sector 6.3 Analytical Construct #2: Dynamics in the Financial Sector Profit Rates and Labour’s Share of Income 6.4 Analytical Construct #3: Rental Income from Financial Assets and Private Debt References Chapter 7: Sweden: Defending Economic Democracy 7.1 The Swedish Model: Embedding Income Equality 7.1.1 Corporatism, Unionism and Egalitarianism Under the Neoliberal Attack 7.1.2 Withstanding, Not Dismantling 7.1.3 The Level of Income Inequality: 1980–2010 7.2 Analytical Construct #1: The Evolution of the Swedish Financial Sector 7.3 Analytical Construct #2: Dynamics in the Financial Sector Profit Rates and Share of Labour 7.4 Analytical Construct #3: Rental Income from Financial Assets and Private Debt References Chapter 8: Conclusion: Rethinking Finance Capitalism and Income Inequality Nexus 8.1 Neoliberal Restructuring as Precondition for Financialisation-Induced Income Inequality Nexus 8.1.1 Crisis of Capital Accumulation 8.1.2 Interests of the Ruling Class and Its Transnationalisation 8.1.3 Ideational Transformation and Ideological Hegemony 8.1.4 External Support and Imposition 8.2 Financialisation as the Generative Mechanism of Increasing Income Inequality 8.2.1 Components of the Financialisation-Based Mechanism: Implications of Financial Liberalisation and Deregulation 8.2.2 Effect of the Financialisation-Based Mechanism: Increased Profits in the Financial Sector and Decreased Labour’s Share 8.2.3 Effect of the Financialisation-Based Mechanism: Increased Rental Income from Financial Assets and Augmented Debt References Index