King's College London

The theme for the debut workshop, which is taking place on 13 November from 10.00-16.00, is ‘COVID-19 and the crisis of financialised capitalism’.

The workshop will bring together researchers from eight London-based political economy research centres to present research-in-progress. The aim of the inaugural meeting is to launch the network as a regular forum for London-based researchers to present and comment on their research.

Dr Karsten Kohler, from the Department of European and International Studies at King’s College London, said: “For around two decades, political economy researchers have investigated financialisaton in its various dimensions. Early contributions focused on financialisaton as a new accumulation regime, with dramatic changes to corporate governance and the investment behaviour of firms.

“The 2008 global financial crisis then shifted attention to the financialisaton of households, especially the role of mortgage debt and the shadow banking system. The post-crisis period was marked by private deleveraging and unconventional monetary policies in many countries. The 2020 COVID-19 crisis has renewed concerns over financial instability – this time with unsustainable corporate debt at centre stage.”

Some of the questions the workshop will seek to address are:

• How has the financial sector changed? Specifically, how can we analyse different actors within financial markets, the shadow banking system and beyond? What are their effects on the overall economy, especially during the pandemic?
• What are the sources and current manifestations of the financialisation of the firm? Does the concept of shareholder value orientation still apply? Does COVID-19 constitute a threat to corporate financial stability?
• What is the role of housing, land and other assets in financial cycles?
• How does financialisation manifest itself in the Global South and how have countries in the Global South been affected by the pandemic?
• How have finance-dominated growth models changed since the 2008 crisis and what are the likely impacts of the COVID-19 crisis?

Paper proposals - name, title, and abstract of 150-200 word - are to be send via e-mail to karsten.kohler@kcl.ac.uk. The deadline for submissions is 26 October. Full papers that have been accepted need to be submitted by 30 October.

 

The London Political Economy Network

The LPEN is a thriving research community with members from across eight London universities. The network aims to foster cross-university exchange and networking between these institutions, providing a forum where researchers present ongoing research, discuss, build collaborations, and identify areas for future research.

The network aims to jointly organise annual meetings at the participating institutions on a rotating basis. Participating members can showcase their research and benefit from the feedback of an expert audience.

Participating institutions:

• City University Political Economy Research Centre (CITYPERC)
• Goldsmiths Political Economy Research Centre (PERC)
• Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre (GPERC)
• Hertfordshire University, Business School
• King’s College London, Department of European and International Studies
• Kingston University London Political Economy Research Group (PERG)
• SOAS, Department of Economics
• University College London, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)