Financial Geography

Financial geography is concerned with the roles of finance, money, and markets in the restructuring of contemporary capitalism, and how these changes have uneven impacts across space. Studies focus on the ways in which space and place are mobilized in shaping financial decisions, allocation of capital, regulatory frameworks of global financial markets, and development of onshore and offshore financial centers. An early political economy approach to regulation of international financial markets is later complemented by more social and cultural explanations and network approaches for analyzing the persistence and increasing importance of international financial centers (IFCs) as strategic basing points for global capital. Scales of analyses range from global frameworks and national financial markets to industry processes and household behavior. While much of the financial geography literature has concentrated on Anglo‐American economies, recent research highlights the increasing significance of emerging economies and alternative financial networks such as sovereign wealth funds and Islamic finance.