The New Geography of Capitalism

Globalization is a dominant feature and force in the contemporary world impacting all areas of business economics and society. This accessibly written overview of contemporary capitalism shows how the development of global supply chains the global division of labour and in particular the globalization of financial markets have become the drivers of this process and assesses the consequences. Not only does this affect the way firms operate it also presents challenges for the nation state. The changing geography of capitalism underpinned by an expanding global division of labour and the integration of financial markets has undercut the bordering logics necessary for the maintenance of national systems of production national varieties of capitalism and national systems of social protection. Reviewing a range of debates and theories across the contemporary social sciences - varieties of capitalism financialization global production networks - the book shows how the insights of economic geography can be usefully brought to bear in understanding current trends and the changing relationships between global financial markets multinational firms and contemporary welfare states. Wide-ranging accessibly written and inter-disciplinary this short book is a most useful guide for researchers and students across the social sciences.