Finance, profits, technological change, and capital accumulation: concepts and interpretative frameworks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13133/2037-3651/18717Keywords:
finacialization, long cycles, world economy, capital accumulation, technological accumulationAbstract
This article critically reviews the literature related to the contemporary phase of financialization, within the broader context of the historical development of capitalism and its accumulation processes. Two main mechanisms underlying the expansion of financial power are identified and examined: the quantitative and qualitative increase in financial transactions involving non-financial companies and households, and the exponential rise in the value of financial assets. Drawing on Arrighi’s (1994) seminal contribution concerning the systemic cycles of accumulation, the article proposes integrating the evolutionary perspective into the historical analysis of capitalism to examine the relationship between financial capital and technological change. Using this integrated framework, it becomes possible to systemically analyse the monopolistic position of today’s digital enterprises. The work also provides empirical evidence of the contemporary pattern of financialized capitalism.
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