Financialisation and physical investment: a global race to the bottom in accumulation?

Daniele Tori and Ozlem Onaran

No PKWP1707, Working Papers from Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES)

Abstract: We estimate the effects of financialisation on physical investment in the developed and developing countries using panel data based on balance-sheets of publicly listed non-financial companies (NFCs) for the period 1995-2015. Among the developed economies, we focus on the cases of the USA, Japan, and a group of Western European countries. In the developing world, we present estimations based on the group of the NFCs in all developing countries as well as BRICS as a group- and country specific estimations for South Africa, South Korea, India, and China. We find robust evidence of an adverse effect of both financial payments (interests and dividends) and financial incomes on investment in fixed assets. The negative impacts of financial incomes are non-linear with respect to the companies' size; financial income crowds out investment in large companies, and have a positive effect on the investment of only smaller, relatively more credit-constrained companies. Our findings support the ‘financialisation thesis’ that the increasing orientation of the non-financial sector towards financial activities is ultimately leading to lower physical investment, hence to stagnant or fragile growth, as well as long term concerns for productivity in both developed and developing countries.

Keywords: financialisation; investment; non-financial sector; firm data; developing countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 D22 O16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30
Date: 2017-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cfn, nep-fdg and nep-hme
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Working Paper: Financialisation and Physical Investment: A global race to the bottom in accumulation? (2017)
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