Households and Financialization in Europe: Mapping Variegated Patterns in Semi-Peripheries

Households and Financialization in Europe provides a processual, relational, and critical transdisciplinary approach to household financialization in Europe, utilizing a range of national and local case studies. It explores the household as a micro-level social institution, a building bloc of larger economic and social structures, and an object of multiple systems of power/knowledge. The book traces these transformations in case studies of variegated financialization in Eastern and Southern European (semi-) peripheries, focusing on the key role of housing, the co-constitutive relationship between financialization and social and spatial inequalities, and the implications of semi-peripheral forms of real and financial accumulation for household financialization.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 184 pages
Publication date: 09 January 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Households and Financialization in Europe is a groundbreaking work that takes a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the complex phenomenon of household financialization in Europe. The book employs a processual, relational, and critical transdisciplinary framework to explore the multifaceted dimensions of this phenomenon, drawing on a wide range of national and local case studies. By integrating debates from Marxist, feminist, and radical IPE, anthropology, and other fields, the book offers a comprehensive analysis of the household as a social institution, a building block of larger economic and social structures, and an object of multiple systems of power and knowledge.

In its exploration, the book delves into the intricate relationship between households and financialization, recognizing the household as a micro-level social institution that plays a crucial role in social reproduction, distribution, and other activities. At the same time, it acknowledges the household as a component of larger economic and social structures and as an object of power and knowledge that is shaped by various systems of governance and regulation.

Through its original research, the book identifies geographically and historically situated ways in which financialization transforms households and their relationships with the wider economy and society. It traces these transformations through case studies of diverse financialization processes in Eastern and Southern European (semi-) peripheries, where households have faced severe financial challenges since the global financial crisis, such as over-indebtedness and asset devaluation.

Key themes that recur throughout the book include the pivotal role of housing in household financialization, the co-constitutive relationship between financialization and social and spatial inequalities, specific patterns in the relations of financial actors, and households in semi-peripheries, and the implications of semi-peripheral forms of real and financial accumulation for household financialization.

By adopting a transdisciplinary approach, Households and Financialization in Europe provides a rich and nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics that shape household financialization in Europe. The book appeals to students and scholars across a wide range of disciplines, including finance, financialization, household economics, international and global political economy, uneven development, economic anthropology, and economic sociology.

The Introduction to the book sets the stage for the subsequent chapters, providing a comprehensive overview of the literature. It highlights the significance of the study of household financialization, discusses the theoretical and methodological challenges involved in understanding this phenomenon, and outlines the book's key findings and contributions. The Introduction also provides a brief background on the historical and geographical context of household financialization in Europe, emphasizing the role of the European Union and the global financial crisis in shaping the current landscape of household financialization.

Overall, Households and Financialization in Europe is a seminal phenomenon that offers a valuable contribution to the literature on household financialization. Its multi-disciplinary approach, rigorous research, and insightful analysis make it an essential read for students and scholars interested in understanding the complex dynamics of household financialization in Europe and its broader social and economic implications.

Weight: 362g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367692377