Financial Capital Research Articles

Dispossessed exposures. Housing and regimes of the visible

Literatures and organising show us how, in contemporary racial financial capitalism, housing is formed through dispossessive histories and geographies. Here, we query how these enter into play in the visual regimes through which housing is seen and experienced. For if the visual realm is as much a construct as any other housing matter, finding a grammar to tap into its workings might become handy when its violent outcomes come to the fore. What is reproduced in the visual regimes of housing? What is offered and taken anyway? What might never be seen, and by whom? The article offers a tentative analytical approach to questioning what we call dispossessed exposures: the (en)visioning of homely futures that are deprived, already in the social construct of seeing with the house, the possibility of radical care for and of habitation. These ideas are unpacked through reflection on two films: Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables and Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouihl’s Gagarine. We offer these reasonings as a contribution to ongoing conversations in the renewed field of housing justice scholarship.

СЛОВЕНСКАЯ «ДОРОЖНАЯ АФЕРА» 1969 Г. (ИЗ ИСТОРИИ БОРЬБЫ ЮГОСЛАВСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК ЗА ИНВЕСТИЦИИ)

The Slovenian «road scam» is an acute conflict between the leadership of Slovenia and the Yugoslav federation over the distribution of foreign loans. It was provoked by the pressure of world financial capital on the Yugoslav government. Favorable internal conditions have developed for the crisis. In Slovenia, the team of S. Kavchich was in power, it advocated the creation of a national republican economy. For many years, the Slovenian press criticized the union center and supported the public opinion that all other republics lived at the expense of Slovenia. In 1969, these factors caused a campaign of pressure on the federal government, which was openly led by the leaders of the republic. Such a massive and public uprising against Belgrade had no precedent in the history of the Yugoslav federation. The crisis was overcome thanks to pressure from the country’s top party leadership, but did not lead to any systemic changes. The Slovenian leadership formally submitted and admitted that they were wrong. The “road scam” showed that the economic reforms of the 1960s, designed to eliminate the basis for conflicts between the republics and the federation, did not lead to the desired goal.

The New Finance Capital: Modern Vampires of the City?

The New Finance Capital: Modern Vampires of the City?

금융자본주의 사회의 자본, 프레카리아트의 영화적 재현 연구

Film reflects society and society reflects film. Over the course of 130 years of film history, we have witnessed the evolution of media culture from film to digital to OTT platforms, which have generated extensive discourse in film theory. Despite these significant changes, the essence of film remains unchanged: it is closely intertwined with society, serving as an art form readily accessible to the public. Film actively examines and meticulously represents society on screen, possessing a unique ability to embody imaginary and virtual worlds, while also striving to represent our real world and explore its hidden facets. Recently, there has been a surge in films exploring the economy. However, academic research on these films has been somewhat limited due to the inherent complexity of the subject matter. This paper aims to analyze “Helpless” and “Sorry, we Missed You” with grave concern. These films tackle the issue of ‘financial capitalism and the precariat’, exerting a significant influence on the structure and phenomena of contemporary society. This research delved into the lives of the precariat suffering from debt and rhetorics, which are cunning devices created by financial capitalism. Lastly, this paper proposes that these films can be categorized as “social problem films” that raise awareness about societal issues and spark changes in society. Through this study, this paper aims to demonstrate the profound connection between film(as a cultural medium) and society, thereby affirming the impact of film on society.

Commercial Soyabean Farming and Household Livelihoods in Kole District northern Uganda, a critical analysis of Farmers Cooperative Society

This paper presents the relationship between commercial soyabean farming and household livelihoods of members of Alito Joint Christian Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited (AJCFSL) in Kole district, Uganda. We used mixed method approach and generated quantitative and qualitative data from registered members of AJCFSL. We sampled 155 respondents out of 259 using simple random technique and purposive sampling techniques and collected data using questionnaires and interview guide. The findings reveal that the number of acres cultivated by soyabean farmers (p<0.01, β= 0.637) is significant in predicting household food security, income, provision of basic needs and responding to emergencies. However, owning storage facilities by farming households is least significant in explaining the contribution of soyabean farming to household livelihood elements (p<0.01, β= 0.216). The study concludes that planting soya bean on more acres strongly enhance family stability. The study recommends the introduction of easy means of acquiring land titles by farmers; and the introduction of subsidized tractor-hire services to boost production of soya bean and achieve a stable family environment. Further research can be considered with a view of analyzing the relationship between commercial soya bean farming and the financial, human, and physical capitals of farmers in Kole district

Life course financial mobility and later-life memory function and decline by gender, and race and ethnicity: an intersectional analysis of the US KHANDLE and STAR cohort studies

Intersectionality has rarely been considered in research studies of cognitive ageing. We investigated whether life-course financial mobility is differentially associated with later-life memory function and decline across intersectional identities defined by gender, and race and ethnicity. Data were from two harmonised multiethnic cohorts (the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences cohort and the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans cohort) in northern California, USA (n=2340). Life-course financial mobility, measured using a combination of self-reported financial capital measures in childhood (from birth to age 16years) and later adulthood (at the cohort baseline) was defined as consistently high, upwardly mobile, downwardly mobile, or consistently low. We clustered individuals into 32strata representing intersectional identities defined by life-course financial mobility combined with gender, and race and ethnicity. Verbal episodic memory was assessed using the Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales over four waves from 2017to 2023. Adjusted mixed-effects linear regression models were estimated with and without fixed effects of gender, race and ethnicity, and financial mobility, to evaluate whether the random effects of the intersectional identity strata contributed variance to memory beyond individual fixed effects. Mean age was 73·6years (SD 8·1). Of 2340individuals, 1460 (62·4%) were women, 880 (37·6%) were men, 388 (16·6%) were Asian, 1136 (48·5%) were Black, 334 (14·3%) were Latinx, and 482 (20·6%) were White. Consistently low and downwardly mobile financial capital were strongly negatively associated with later-life memory at baseline (-0·162SD units [95% CI -0·273to -0·051] for consistently low and -0·171 [-0·250to -0·092] for downwardly mobile), but not rate of change over time. Intersectional identities contributed 0·2% of memory variance after accounting for the fixed effects of gender, race and ethnicity, and financial mobility. Consistently low and downward life-course financial mobility are associated with lower later-life memory function. Intersectional identities defined by financial mobility in addition to gender, and race and ethnicity, contribute negligible additional variance to later-life memory in this study setting. US National Institute on Aging, US National Institutes of Health.

Digital Economy Reformulation and Economic Competitiveness of Smart Cities: An Application of Soft Systems Methodology

Smart cities have become a new trend in urban development worldwide, and digital economy plays a crucial role. Therefore, this study aimed to create a novel formulation of digital economy that contributes to improving competitiveness of smart cities and provides practical guidance on digital economy strategies. A Soft System Methodology (SSM)–based action that utilizes the concept of systems was used to investigate conceptual models from different perspectives, from conceptual thinking to real-world–based action. Moreover, Indonesia was selected as a case study due to its extensive implementation of smart cities over the past five years, with over 250 cities participating in the program. The study successfully identified five scopes of digital economy, namely digital technology, digital service, shared economy and platform, digitalized economy, and financial services. It also identified six crucial criteria of economic competitiveness, namely human resources, product offerings, innovation capability, economic productivity, ease of business and investment, as well as financial capital. In conclusion, local cities and regencies' governments need to accelerate digital economy by creating supporting policies, making collaboration, effective digital marketing, improving digital literacy, guaranteeing cyber security, as well as protecting consumers and data privacy.

Determinants of household income and livelihood sustainability of coastal regions: evidence from south-western Bangladesh

The coast of south-western Bangladesh has been facing an increasing severity of climate stressors, thereby affecting the livelihoods of households. This has necessitated the importance of understanding the complex aspects of their sustainability. This study investigates factors influencing household income and livelihood sustainability of coastal residents in southwestern Bangladesh. A survey was carried out among 300 heads of households from the Kailashganj and Laudubi villages under Dacope sub-district of Khulna district (a climate-sensitive region) in Bangladesh. We utilized the composite livelihood sustainability index (LSI) and multiple linear regression to identify the factors influencing coastal households’ income. Findings revealed that the overall LSI among the households was 0.663 (moderate sustainability). Additionally, the highest LSI was found in terms of social capital and the lowest LSI was identified in terms of financial capital. The findings of the regression analysis indicated that monthly household income was positively and significantly influenced by its close linkages to local leaders (p < 0.05) and association with non-governmental organizations (p < 0.01). Moreover, economically active members (p < 0.01), more accessibility of commuting transportation (p < 0.01), and availability of water for irrigation (p < 0.01) were positively and significantly derived the monthly household income. Policymakers can use these results as a basis for formulating policies (e.g., enhancing the training and skill development programs as well as prioritizing investment in expanding irrigation systems) that can address the essential livelihood and income requirements of the community that is affected by climate change.

Linking Tourism Development with Residents’ Well-being through Livelihood Capitals in Northern Tanzania

This study aimed at evaluating the link between tourism development, well-being and residents’ access to livelihood capitals when confounding variables are controlled. The study used the quasi-experimental design. Well-being condition was determined through the Livelihood Capital Index after controlling for socio-economic covariates among matched samples of 413 tourism beneficiaries and 421 non-beneficiary agro-pastoralists living in three gateway tourism destination communities namely Burunge, Lake Natron and Loliondo in Northern Tanzania. Selected communities experienced a development stage of tourism destination life cycle. This study largely relied on analysis of quantitative data by calculating the Livelihood Capital Index. However, qualitative data from 24 key informants, through Focus Group Discussions complemented the quantitative data. The study established that linkage between tourism development and well-being is facilitated with residents’ access to livelihood capitals. Basing on difference in the average treatment effect of 0.087 (8.7%) in the livelihood capital index, which was statistically significant (p &lt;0.001), the study concluded that residents’ well-being as a function of livelihood capital status is enhanced more with tourism than without tourism, especially in financial, social, physical and human capitals. Therefore, the study recommended that efforts to sustain tourism development in enabling resident access to livelihood capitals that underpin their well-being should strike a balance between residents’ need for cultivation and grazing at one hand and tourism investment on communal land on the other hand.

Financial resource curse and firms' accessibility to financing in resource-based countries

This study delves into the paradox of the financial resource curse, exploring how the abundance of natural resources in a country paradoxically constrains firms' accessibility to financing. Despite the potential economic boon natural resources represent, evidence suggests that they can lead to less diversified economies, making it challenging for firms outside the resource sector to access financing. Our research aims to dissect this phenomenon by analyzing microeconomic statistics on the financial accessibility of enterprises, juxtaposed with macroeconomic statistics across 170 countries, encompassing over 10,000 firms surveyed from 1990 to 2022. The panel regression analysis allows us to control for both time-invariant country characteristics and global economic trends, providing insights into the causal relationship between resource dependence and financial access for firms. The results are striking, revealing that, indeed, countries with significant natural resource wealth tend to exhibit reduced financial accessibility for firms outside the resource extraction sector. The panel regression models indicate a robust negative correlation between the extent of a country's resource wealth and the ease with which non-resource firms can access financial capital. This suggests that the financial resource curse is not only a real phenomenon but also one that has significant implications for economic diversification and sustainable development. Moreover, findings underscore the need for targeted policy interventions. Countries with abundant natural resources should implement strategies that foster economic diversification, enhance the financial infrastructure to support a broader range of industries, and encourage the development of financial instruments tailored to the needs of non-resource sectors.

The Impact of Phentagonal on the Economic Resilience of the South Kuta Community

This research took as its object the South Kuta Subdistrict Office, Badung Regency, which aims to examine the Pentagonal Impact on the Economic Resilience of the South Kuta Community using the main theory, namely the grand theory (Van Holk, 2008) which suggests that what forms resilience and these factors interact with each other throughout life. This research uses quantitative methods using a questionnaire and a sample of 92 people from the South Kuta community, as well as five hypotheses using SPSS V 2024 with multiple regression. The results of this research found: 1. Human Resources showed a negative and insignificant influence on the economic resilience of the people of South Kuta, 2. Natural Resources showed a significant and positive influence on the economic resilience of the people of South Kuta, 3. Social Capital showed a positive influence but no significantly to the economic resilience of the South Kuta community, 4. Financial Capital shows a negative and significant influence on the economic resilience of the South Kuta community, 5. Economic Resilience has a simultaneous influence on Human Resources, Natural Resources, Social Capital, Financial Capital so that they become one unit in the South Kuta Community. Implications of this research found: 1. Policies in developing Human Resources, 2. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, 3. Strengthening Social Capital, 4. Access to Financial Capital, 5. Increasing economic readiness and adaptation, 6. Development of local initiatives.

The Rise and Fall of the Sociology of the Global City

In the 1980s and 1990s, a series of publications, including Saskia Sassen's landmark book The Global City, triggered a new current of research aiming to link a cycle of globalized financial and tech capitalism to a new type of city, analogous to what the industrial city had been in the past. This article first reviews this literature in relation to the history and sociology of the world city. It then reviews criticism and sociological questions advanced by the global city literature and, in particular, research by Saskia Sassen and Manuel Castells. It argues that claims about the uniqueness of the global city were not validated empirically. Nonetheless, the issues this literature raised became central to research on globalizing cities, in particular in relation to the role of finance and financial capitals. Finally, this article argues that different forms of globalization give rise to different types of globalizing cities. A new cycle of research is now underway in relation to the climate crisis and pandemics, as the climate crisis becomes the most important global phenomenon.

Farmland rental participation, livelihood capital, and rural income inequality: evidence from rural China

ABSTRACT Using data from the China Family Panel Studies through a national rural survey, we analysed the effects of farmland rental participation and five types of livelihood capital on rural household income. We considered different livelihood strategies and applied the sustainable livelihood framework. Additionally, we used a regression-based Shapley-value decomposition method to examine how farmland rental participation and livelihood capital contribute to the rural income gap. Additionally, we investigated whether farmland rental participation is beneficial in reducing rural income inequality. The results show that farmland rental participation can lead to income benefits for the vast majority of farmers. Furthermore, farmland rental participation is not a primary factor contributing to the rural income gap. Household physical, human, and financial capital emerge as the three factors significantly influencing the income gap. The quantile regression results indicate that providing reasonable guidance to the farmland rental market is beneficial for narrowing the rural income gap. Implementing proactive policies aimed at enhancing the human, financial, and social capital of farmers can theoretically contribute to narrowing the rural income inequality.

Debt, bubble policy, and the role of the repo market in the Federal Reserve’s management of capitalism in crisis

In the last decade, repurchase-agreements (repos) between banks and financial institutions have grown significantly as banks systemically low on cash see repos as the cheapest, safest, and quickest way to get the funding they need for running regular services. However, hikes in interest rates by the Federal Reserve since March 2022 have increased the cost of interbank borrowing. This causes stress on many banks, and ultimately, brings into question the financial system’s long-term reliance on repos and other obscure short-term funding methods. Awareness of the Fed’s repo market policy, and their monetary policy in general, ought to matter to political economists and workers alike because it reveals precisely how the economy is controlled by a few levers inside the marriage between state and finance capital. Consequently, in this article I outline the repo market and its significance to the Fed’s management of economic crises. This requires a relative understanding of their general monetary policy, which in itself requires significant material economic contextualizing. It is this context that ultimately matters most, and which will therefore be the focal point of discussion. Only after such contextualization does the discussion end with a word on the rise of repos, the risks of increased reliance on it, and possible future directions from the perspective of both capital and labor.

Self-Disclosure of Weaknesses and Entrepreneurs’ Access to Financial Capital

Self-Disclosure of Weaknesses and Entrepreneurs’ Access to Financial Capital

Which discount rate for sustainability?

There is a long-standing controversy about determining the discount rate at which companies should discount the long-term benefits of sustainability investments (e.g. for climate change mitigation and adaptation). While financial capital is discounted at the standard financial discount rate, this paper argues that companies should discount social and natural capital at the social discount rate. We add a risk parameter to the social discount rate to deal with the macroeconomic risk of rare disasters. Social discount rates are typically lower than financial discount rates. So, if applied, they should lead to higher investments in social and natural capital.

Financial liberalization or state capitalism? The developmental state and the special purpose bond market in South Korea

ABSTRACT South Korea's state-guaranteed bond market was nearly half the size of its sovereign bond market in 2022, and in the early 2000s, it was nearly twice the size of the latter. What explains the overwhelming prominence of this fixed-income market? This paper finds that the prominence of this market is a path-dependent consequence of developmental legacies and the Asian Financial Crisis. State-guaranteed bonds allowed the state to circumvent conditionalities that limited the state's ability to access domestic savings for policy objectives and helped shield the newly established sovereign bond market from premature supply pressure. This finding demonstrates that the state not only supports or creates markets but also uses markets to maintain its influence against external pressure. It also explains how the South Korean state was able to maintain its developmental policies after market liberalisation by tracking the post-crisis flow of domestic savings.

Assessment of sustainability in cocoa farms in Ecuador: application of a multidimensional indicator-based framework

ABSTRACT Cocoa is one of Ecuador’s main export products. Over the last decades, cocoa production in the country has increased considerably, making it the largest producer of cocoa in Latin America. However, this increase has been accompanied by environmental degradation, endangering the sustainability of cocoa cultivation. This study utilizes an innovative indicator-based framework to evaluate the sustainability performance of fine flavour and CCN-51 cocoa farms in Ecuador, across economic, social, environmental, nutrition and health, and governance dimensions. Data were collected from 169 farms in Manabí Province and multiple statistical tests were employed to discern sustainability scores. The results highlighted significant differences in sustainability between the two cocoa production systems, influenced by factors such as ethnicity, age, and level of education. A 53% variation in sustainability scores between the fine flavour and CCN-51 cocoa farms was identified. The association of lower sustainability scores with limitations of physical and financial capital provides insights for enhancing sustainable cocoa farming in Ecuador.

Multi-level factors influencing climate migration willingness among small-scale farmers

Introduction: Climate change is a pressing global challenge impacting agriculture and rural communities. This study investigates the willingness to migrate against climate change among small-scale farmers and explores the associated socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors.Method: A sample of 296 small-scale farmers was randomly selected, and data were collected through face-to-face interviews. A logistic regression model was used to assess the association of multi-level factors with willingness to climate migration.Results: The results showed that different dimensions of adaptation strategies are inversely associated with willingness to migrate in response to climate change. In contrast, human capital was directly associated with the desire to migrate. Also, improving financial capital was indirectly associated with farmers’ willingness to migrate to the rural area. The study also found that education level plays a key role in increasing the probability of being willing to relocate in response to climate change. Specifically, a 1-year increase in education level was associated with a 4.2% increase in the likelihood of being willing to migrate.Discussion: Therefore, providing financial support for sustainable farming practices to alleviate the economic challenges faced by small-scale farmers, and implementing targeted capacity-building programs to enhance farmers’ adaptive capacity and promote sustainable agricultural development can be suggested. Furthermore, improving farmers’ specialized knowledge regarding the various consequences of climate migration, in conjunction with their general education, can help control and manage their migration.

Financial capitalism going to heaven the ultrathin ultraluxury supertalls of Manhattan

This photo essay is an introduction to a new architectural typology that has emerged as recently as in the 2010s: the speculatively built ultrathin, ultraluxury residential skyscraper, serving as the apotheosis of architecture and global finance intertwined. In stark contrast to what their marketing materials suggest, these supertalls are rarely lived in. Their primary purpose is to store the surplus capital of their ultrawealthy buyers safely—and, of course, to generate jaw-dropping returns for the development companies. Ultraluxury supertalls are present in many global metropolises. Still, in this essay, I will focus on Manhattan, where the skyline has been radically reshaped in the past 10 years by this new crop of skyscrapers, many built around 57th Street, also known as Billionaires’ Row. The paper, accompanied by photographs of the views of some of these towers, will aim to describe this new architectural typology, its target audience, legislative origins, and engineering records and give a feel into what it is like to be on the top of the world—or at least own a few thousand square feet of it. The text is based on artistic research methods: while posing as Gabriella, an apartment-hunting Hungarian billionaire, I accessed and documented the views of 25 of these buildings. Thus, this essay is enriched with details from sales brochures and photographs and transcribed conversation fragments from the viewings.