Financialisation in Spain: The Emergence of a New Accumulation Model?

Abstract

The concept of fi nancialisation is being widely used to describe certain
structural changes in advanced capitalist economies. The main
approaches to this concept are discussed in this paper. Firstly, the
causes of the fi nancial expansion that are synthesised in innovation,
liquidifi cation and deregulation processes are identifi ed; secondly, the
indicators concerning these processes relative to the structure of the
balance sheet and profi t and loss account of the main economic actors
are empirically analysed for the Spanish case. The results of the analysis
show a trend consistent with all capitalist economies, in which fi nancial
capital gains increase not only when the net profi ts of companies rise,
but also when they collapse in a context of severe economic crisis and
high unemployment.