2022
|
Babic, Milan; Huijzer, Jouke; Garcia-Bernardo, Javier; Valeeva, Diliara How does business power operate? A framework for its working mechanisms Journal Article In: Business and Politics, vol. First View, pp. 1-18, 2022. @article{Babic2022,
title = {How does business power operate? A framework for its working mechanisms},
author = {Milan Babic and Jouke Huijzer and Javier Garcia-Bernardo and Diliara Valeeva},
url = {DOI:10.1017/bap.2021.19
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-and-politics/article/how-does-business-power-operate-a-framework-for-its-working-mechanisms/6F918ABDEC85B651BBB41026D8E890C5},
doi = {doi:10.1017/bap.2021.19},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-03},
journal = {Business and Politics},
volume = {First View},
pages = {1-18},
abstract = {The global financial crisis of 2008, its following bank bailouts, and associated corporate impunity sparked a renewed interest in the concept of the structural power of business and the question of “who rules?” in capitalist societies. This new wave of scholarship mitigated some of the problems of the original, theory-driven discussions from the 1970s and 1980s. But despite significant advancements in the empirical identification of business power, we lack a unified framework for studying its working mechanisms. So-called hybrid approaches, drawing on instrumental and structural power for their analyses, display high potential for such a unified and easily applicable framework. We build on this hybrid tradition and propose a novel model that integrates instrumental and structural power analysis into a basic framework. With this, we recalibrate the often rigid division between instrumental and structural power forms and emphasize the role of perceptions as key for understanding the dynamics of business power over time. We illustrate this parsimonious framework by an analysis of the plans of the Dutch government to abolish a dividend tax in 2018 that would have benefited a number of large multinationals but collapsed before implementation.},
keywords = {business power, instrumental power, political economy, structural power, tax},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The global financial crisis of 2008, its following bank bailouts, and associated corporate impunity sparked a renewed interest in the concept of the structural power of business and the question of “who rules?” in capitalist societies. This new wave of scholarship mitigated some of the problems of the original, theory-driven discussions from the 1970s and 1980s. But despite significant advancements in the empirical identification of business power, we lack a unified framework for studying its working mechanisms. So-called hybrid approaches, drawing on instrumental and structural power for their analyses, display high potential for such a unified and easily applicable framework. We build on this hybrid tradition and propose a novel model that integrates instrumental and structural power analysis into a basic framework. With this, we recalibrate the often rigid division between instrumental and structural power forms and emphasize the role of perceptions as key for understanding the dynamics of business power over time. We illustrate this parsimonious framework by an analysis of the plans of the Dutch government to abolish a dividend tax in 2018 that would have benefited a number of large multinationals but collapsed before implementation. |
2021
|
Valeeva, Diliara; Takes, Frank W; Heemskerk, Eelke M Beaten paths towards the transnational corporate elite Journal Article In: International Sociology, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 97-123, 2021. @article{Valeeva2021,
title = {Beaten paths towards the transnational corporate elite},
author = {Diliara Valeeva and Frank W Takes and Eelke M Heemskerk},
url = {DOI: 10.1177/02685809211051661
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02685809211051661},
doi = {10.1177/02685809211051661},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-09},
journal = {International Sociology},
volume = {37},
number = {1},
pages = {97-123},
abstract = {The transnationalization of economic activities has fundamentally altered the world. One of the consequences that has intrigued scholars is the formation of a transnational corporate elite. While the literature tends to focus on the topology of the transnational board interlock network, little is known about its driving mechanisms. This article asks the question: what are the trajectories that corporate elites follow in driving the expansion of this network? To answer this, the authors employ a novel approach that models the transnationalization of elites using their board appointment sequences. The findings show that there are six transnationalization trajectories corporate elites follow to expand the network. The authors argue that while the transnational elite network appears as a global social structure, its generating mechanisms are regionally organized. This corroborates earlier findings on the fragmentation of the global network of corporate control, but also provides insights into how this network was shaped over time.},
keywords = {corporate elites, elite networks, interlocking directorates, sequence analysis, transnational elite},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The transnationalization of economic activities has fundamentally altered the world. One of the consequences that has intrigued scholars is the formation of a transnational corporate elite. While the literature tends to focus on the topology of the transnational board interlock network, little is known about its driving mechanisms. This article asks the question: what are the trajectories that corporate elites follow in driving the expansion of this network? To answer this, the authors employ a novel approach that models the transnationalization of elites using their board appointment sequences. The findings show that there are six transnationalization trajectories corporate elites follow to expand the network. The authors argue that while the transnational elite network appears as a global social structure, its generating mechanisms are regionally organized. This corroborates earlier findings on the fragmentation of the global network of corporate control, but also provides insights into how this network was shaped over time. |
van Kuppevelt, Dafne E; Bakhshi, Rena; Heemskerk, Eelke M.; Takes, Frank W. Community membership consistency applied to corporate board interlock networks Journal Article In: Journal of Computational Social Science, 2021. @article{vanKuppevelt2021,
title = {Community membership consistency applied to corporate board interlock networks},
author = {Dafne E van Kuppevelt and Rena Bakhshi and Eelke M. Heemskerk and Frank W. Takes},
url = {DOI: 10.1007/s42001-021-00145-5
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42001-021-00145-5#article-info},
doi = {10.1007/s42001-021-00145-5},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-19},
journal = {Journal of Computational Social Science},
abstract = {Community detection is a well-established method for studying the meso-scale
structure of social networks. Applying a community detection algorithm results in
a division of a network into communities that is often used to inspect and reason
about community membership of specifc nodes. This micro-level interpretation step
of community structure is a crucial step in typical social science research. However,
the methodological caveat in this step is that virtually all modern community detection methods are non-deterministic and based on randomization and approximated
results. This needs to be explicitly taken into consideration when reasoning about
community membership of individual nodes. To do so, we propose a metric of community membership consistency, that provides node-level insights in how reliable
the placement of that node into a community really is. In addition, it enables us to
distinguish the community core members of a community. The usefulness of the
proposed metrics is demonstrated on corporate board interlock networks, in which
weighted links represent shared senior level directors between frms. Results suggest
that the community structure of global business groups is centered around persistent
communities consisting of core countries tied by geographical and cultural proximity. In addition, we identify fringe countries that appear to associate with a number
of diferent global business communities.},
keywords = {board interlocks, community detection, interlocking directorates, modularity, network analysis},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Community detection is a well-established method for studying the meso-scale
structure of social networks. Applying a community detection algorithm results in
a division of a network into communities that is often used to inspect and reason
about community membership of specifc nodes. This micro-level interpretation step
of community structure is a crucial step in typical social science research. However,
the methodological caveat in this step is that virtually all modern community detection methods are non-deterministic and based on randomization and approximated
results. This needs to be explicitly taken into consideration when reasoning about
community membership of individual nodes. To do so, we propose a metric of community membership consistency, that provides node-level insights in how reliable
the placement of that node into a community really is. In addition, it enables us to
distinguish the community core members of a community. The usefulness of the
proposed metrics is demonstrated on corporate board interlock networks, in which
weighted links represent shared senior level directors between frms. Results suggest
that the community structure of global business groups is centered around persistent
communities consisting of core countries tied by geographical and cultural proximity. In addition, we identify fringe countries that appear to associate with a number
of diferent global business communities. |
Valeeva, Diliara Where is the backbone of the transnational corporate elite? Journal Article In: Global Networks, pp. 1-17, 2021. @article{Valeeva2021b,
title = {Where is the backbone of the transnational corporate elite?},
author = {Diliara Valeeva},
url = {DOI: 10.1111/glob.12351
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/glob.12351},
doi = {10.1111/glob.12351},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-15},
urldate = {2021-11-15},
journal = {Global Networks},
pages = {1-17},
abstract = {The transnationalization of corporate activities has contributed to a rise in the number of transnational professionals and transnational corporate elite members. These transnational actors establish ties within and across national borders and contribute to the formation of a more connected global corporate network. And yet little is known about the geographical locations through which these transnational corporate elites operate, both nationally and internationally. This article aims to fill this gap by applying the network backbone detection algorithm to detect the global cities that are connected through the
operations of the transnational corporate board members. The article detects the backbone of around 300 global cities, centered around London, New York and Hong Kong. The findings show that the backbone is currently structuring over a set of border-crossing communities and expanding to the locations beyond the Anglophone corporate world. The study interprets the presence of these new communities as the first signs toward the convergence of practices, norms and possibly identities of national elite members.},
keywords = {board interlocks, elite networks, transnationalism, world city networks},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The transnationalization of corporate activities has contributed to a rise in the number of transnational professionals and transnational corporate elite members. These transnational actors establish ties within and across national borders and contribute to the formation of a more connected global corporate network. And yet little is known about the geographical locations through which these transnational corporate elites operate, both nationally and internationally. This article aims to fill this gap by applying the network backbone detection algorithm to detect the global cities that are connected through the
operations of the transnational corporate board members. The article detects the backbone of around 300 global cities, centered around London, New York and Hong Kong. The findings show that the backbone is currently structuring over a set of border-crossing communities and expanding to the locations beyond the Anglophone corporate world. The study interprets the presence of these new communities as the first signs toward the convergence of practices, norms and possibly identities of national elite members. |
Valeeva, Diliara The transnational corporate elite network - Nature and properties PhD Thesis 2021, ISBN: 978-94-6421-512-0. @phdthesis{Valeeva2021c,
title = {The transnational corporate elite network - Nature and properties},
author = {Diliara Valeeva},
url = {https://dare.uva.nl/search?identifier=eb72328c-9283-4a77-9488-a65da1ae0205},
isbn = {978-94-6421-512-0},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-10},
urldate = {2021-11-10},
abstract = {Increasing wealth inequality levels, a declined trust in established elites, and the rise of populist leaders after the 2008 financial crisis sparked the interest of social scientists in the nature of elites and upper classes. In line with these social transformations, the present dissertation focuses on corporate elites—the key elite group that significantly contributed to and benefited from economic globalization. This study explores how corporate elites structure their national and international networks, using social network analysis as the main methodological framework and the theory of the transnational capitalist class as a key theoretical backdrop. The chapters of this dissertation deliver three key findings. First, this study shows that the transnational corporate elite network remains fragmented. Second, the dissertation reveals that elite formation and reproduction of the members of the transnational corporate elite follow similar patterns as within nation-states. Third, the findings of this dissertation suggest that practice adaptation is taking place among different fractions of the transnational corporate elite network. Together, the chapters of this manuscript show that the nature of the transnational corporate elite network is significantly determined by the properties of national elite networks. The results of this study shed light on the influence and power of elites and corporations in modern societies.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Increasing wealth inequality levels, a declined trust in established elites, and the rise of populist leaders after the 2008 financial crisis sparked the interest of social scientists in the nature of elites and upper classes. In line with these social transformations, the present dissertation focuses on corporate elites—the key elite group that significantly contributed to and benefited from economic globalization. This study explores how corporate elites structure their national and international networks, using social network analysis as the main methodological framework and the theory of the transnational capitalist class as a key theoretical backdrop. The chapters of this dissertation deliver three key findings. First, this study shows that the transnational corporate elite network remains fragmented. Second, the dissertation reveals that elite formation and reproduction of the members of the transnational corporate elite follow similar patterns as within nation-states. Third, the findings of this dissertation suggest that practice adaptation is taking place among different fractions of the transnational corporate elite network. Together, the chapters of this manuscript show that the nature of the transnational corporate elite network is significantly determined by the properties of national elite networks. The results of this study shed light on the influence and power of elites and corporations in modern societies. |
de Graaff, Nana; Valeeva, Diliara Emerging Sino–European Corporate Elite Networks Journal Article In: Development and Change, vol. 52, no. 5, pp. 1147-1173, 2021. @article{deGraaff2021,
title = {Emerging Sino–European Corporate Elite Networks},
author = {Nana de Graaff and Diliara Valeeva},
url = {DOI: 10.1111/dech.12682
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dech.12682},
doi = {10.1111/dech.12682},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-03},
journal = {Development and Change},
volume = {52},
number = {5},
pages = {1147-1173},
abstract = {Chinese investments into Europe have been growing prodigiously in the past decade and are increasingly the subject of controversy. However, while a lot of empirical data and analysis are available on the flows and stocks of these investments, we still know very little about the loci of corporate power and control behind them. This article focuses on a domain where substantive power of decision making and control regarding these investments lies: corporate boards. The key aim is to assess how Chinese boards are relating to the existing European corporate elite networks by analysing the extent and nature of Sino–European corporate board interlocking by China's largest firms as a particular networking mode. Based on business listings and databases, and applying social network analysis in combination with qualitative analysis, the article highlights the contours of an emerging Sino–European corporate elite, revealing under-exposed areas of ongoing Sino–European collaboration whilst at the same time indicating a sphere of potential influence by Chinese business elites at the top of Europe's corporations.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Chinese investments into Europe have been growing prodigiously in the past decade and are increasingly the subject of controversy. However, while a lot of empirical data and analysis are available on the flows and stocks of these investments, we still know very little about the loci of corporate power and control behind them. This article focuses on a domain where substantive power of decision making and control regarding these investments lies: corporate boards. The key aim is to assess how Chinese boards are relating to the existing European corporate elite networks by analysing the extent and nature of Sino–European corporate board interlocking by China's largest firms as a particular networking mode. Based on business listings and databases, and applying social network analysis in combination with qualitative analysis, the article highlights the contours of an emerging Sino–European corporate elite, revealing under-exposed areas of ongoing Sino–European collaboration whilst at the same time indicating a sphere of potential influence by Chinese business elites at the top of Europe's corporations. |
Fichtner, Jan R.; Heemskerk, Eelke M; Petry, Johannes The new gatekeepers of financial claims: States, passive markets, and the growing power of index providers Book Chapter In: 2021. @inbook{Fichtner2021,
title = {The new gatekeepers of financial claims: States, passive markets, and the growing power of index providers},
author = {Jan R. Fichtner and Eelke M Heemskerk and Johannes Petry},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/x45j3
},
doi = {10.31235/osf.io/x45j3},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-06-17},
urldate = {2021-06-17},
abstract = {Since the financial crisis there has been a massive shift from actively managed funds to passive funds that merely replicate financial indexes. Instead of active investors influencing states through their investment decisions, in this new economic reality the locus of agency is shifting from investors towards index providers as they decide which companies and countries are included into key benchmark indexes. We argue that the major index providers (MSCI, S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell) exercise growing private authority as they steer capital via their indexes. Index providers have become crucial intermediaries in the relationship between states and investors. Through producing widely used indexes, index providers essentially provide a crucial infrastructure that enables the creation and trading of increasingly passively allocated financial claims. Through the infrastructural power they derive from this gatekeeper position, index providers are able to ‘standardise’ the issuers of capital claims and the countries in which these issuers reside through determining the criteria that corporations and states, especially emerging markets, have to fulfil to qualify for index membership – and consequently asset allocation. This chapter therefore investigates the relationship between states and index providers and the latter’s influence on issues of domestic financial regulation, investor access and international capital flows.},
keywords = {index providors; asset management; passive investing; MSCI},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
Since the financial crisis there has been a massive shift from actively managed funds to passive funds that merely replicate financial indexes. Instead of active investors influencing states through their investment decisions, in this new economic reality the locus of agency is shifting from investors towards index providers as they decide which companies and countries are included into key benchmark indexes. We argue that the major index providers (MSCI, S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell) exercise growing private authority as they steer capital via their indexes. Index providers have become crucial intermediaries in the relationship between states and investors. Through producing widely used indexes, index providers essentially provide a crucial infrastructure that enables the creation and trading of increasingly passively allocated financial claims. Through the infrastructural power they derive from this gatekeeper position, index providers are able to ‘standardise’ the issuers of capital claims and the countries in which these issuers reside through determining the criteria that corporations and states, especially emerging markets, have to fulfil to qualify for index membership – and consequently asset allocation. This chapter therefore investigates the relationship between states and index providers and the latter’s influence on issues of domestic financial regulation, investor access and international capital flows. |
Mattsson, Carolina E S; Takes, Frank W; Heemskerk, Eelke M; Diks, Cees; Buiten, Gert; Faber, Albert; Sloot, Peter M. A. Functional structure in production networks Journal Article In: Frontiers of Big Data, vol. 4, no. 666712, 2021. @article{Sloot2021,
title = {Functional structure in production networks},
author = {Carolina E S Mattsson and Frank W Takes and Eelke M Heemskerk and Cees Diks and Gert Buiten and Albert Faber and Peter M.A. Sloot },
url = {doi:10.3389/fdata.2021.666712
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8176009/
},
doi = {10.3389/fdata.2021.666712},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-05-21},
journal = {Frontiers of Big Data},
volume = {4},
number = {666712},
abstract = {Production networks are integral to economic dynamics, yet dis-aggregated network data on inter-firm trade is rarely collected and often proprietary. Here we situate company-level production networks within a wider space of networks that are different in nature, but similar in local connectivity structure. Through this lens, we study a regional and a national network of inferred trade relationships reconstructed from Dutch national economic statistics and re-interpret prior empirical findings. We find that company-level production networks have so-called functional structure, as previously identified in protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Functional networks are distinctive in their over-representation of closed squares, which we quantify using an existing measure called spectral bipartivity. Shared local connectivity structure lets us ferry insights between domains. PPI networks are shaped by complementarity, rather than homophily, and we use multi-layer directed configuration models to show that this principle explains the emergence of functional structure in production networks. Companies are especially similar to their close competitors, not to their trading partners. Our findings have practical implications for the analysis of production networks and give us precise terms for the local structural features that may be key to understanding their routine function, failure, and growth.},
keywords = {bipartivity, complexity economics, economic statistics, functional networks, inter-firm networks, production networks, trade linkages},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Production networks are integral to economic dynamics, yet dis-aggregated network data on inter-firm trade is rarely collected and often proprietary. Here we situate company-level production networks within a wider space of networks that are different in nature, but similar in local connectivity structure. Through this lens, we study a regional and a national network of inferred trade relationships reconstructed from Dutch national economic statistics and re-interpret prior empirical findings. We find that company-level production networks have so-called functional structure, as previously identified in protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Functional networks are distinctive in their over-representation of closed squares, which we quantify using an existing measure called spectral bipartivity. Shared local connectivity structure lets us ferry insights between domains. PPI networks are shaped by complementarity, rather than homophily, and we use multi-layer directed configuration models to show that this principle explains the emergence of functional structure in production networks. Companies are especially similar to their close competitors, not to their trading partners. Our findings have practical implications for the analysis of production networks and give us precise terms for the local structural features that may be key to understanding their routine function, failure, and growth. |
Babić, Milan State transformations in the global political economy: The rise of transnational state capital in the 21st century PhD Thesis 2021, ISBN: 9789464212167. @phdthesis{Babić2021,
title = {State transformations in the global political economy: The rise of transnational state capital in the 21st century},
author = {Milan Babić},
url = {https://dare.uva.nl/search?identifier=4e432cdf-4057-452e-a5ce-54addf0a0912},
isbn = {9789464212167},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-04-21},
abstract = { This dissertation analyzes the rise of transnational state capital in the global political economy and its consequences for international politics. A standard reading of the rise of “state capitalism” in the last years suggests that it represents a counter-movement against neoliberal globalization. In this study, I challenge this reading and argue that it is not primarily state capitalist economies (like China or the BRICS), but rather state-owned capital that rises in the global political economy. It does so through the very opportunity structures neoliberal globalization itself created. The consequences for international politics are hence more nuanced than the standard “state capitalist challenge”-reading suggests: states rise as owners in the global political economy and thereby engage in forms of geoeconomic competition with other economic actors. In order to substantiate these arguments, the dissertation sets up and analyzes the largest existing firm-level dataset on cross-border state investment.
The findings of this study show:
(1) Which states are senders and targets of cross-border state investment and how they relate to each other within the global political economy.
(2) The variety of different strategies states as transnational owners apply, from financial to more controlling strategies.
(3) How the employment of these strategies leads to variegated effects on international politics in the form of geoeconomic competition; and which geographical areas are the hotspots of this type of competition.
In sum, the project hence demonstrates how states become part of global markets; which strategies they employ to do so; and what consequences this rise has for international politics.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
This dissertation analyzes the rise of transnational state capital in the global political economy and its consequences for international politics. A standard reading of the rise of “state capitalism” in the last years suggests that it represents a counter-movement against neoliberal globalization. In this study, I challenge this reading and argue that it is not primarily state capitalist economies (like China or the BRICS), but rather state-owned capital that rises in the global political economy. It does so through the very opportunity structures neoliberal globalization itself created. The consequences for international politics are hence more nuanced than the standard “state capitalist challenge”-reading suggests: states rise as owners in the global political economy and thereby engage in forms of geoeconomic competition with other economic actors. In order to substantiate these arguments, the dissertation sets up and analyzes the largest existing firm-level dataset on cross-border state investment.
The findings of this study show:
(1) Which states are senders and targets of cross-border state investment and how they relate to each other within the global political economy.
(2) The variety of different strategies states as transnational owners apply, from financial to more controlling strategies.
(3) How the employment of these strategies leads to variegated effects on international politics in the form of geoeconomic competition; and which geographical areas are the hotspots of this type of competition.
In sum, the project hence demonstrates how states become part of global markets; which strategies they employ to do so; and what consequences this rise has for international politics. |
Huijzer, M J; Heemskerk, E M Delineating the corporate elite: Inquiring the boundaries and composition of interlocking directorate networks Journal Article In: Global Networks, 2021. @article{Huijzer2021,
title = {Delineating the corporate elite: Inquiring the boundaries and composition of interlocking directorate networks},
author = {M J Huijzer and E M Heemskerk},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12316
},
doi = {glob.12316},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-02-24},
journal = {Global Networks},
abstract = {Corporate elite studies have for long investigated networks of interlocking directorates to test and corroborate key theoretical expectations regarding the cohesive organization of such an elite and their ability and willingness to act on behalf of general business interests. These studies typically collect data on a list of 50, 100, 200 or 500 corporations ranked by economic size, sometimes stratified in sectors. The sampling approach often follows previous studies in order to increase comparability. These relatively arbitrary sampling practices are problematic because they impact the empirical results and our therefore the conclusions drawn from it. Using a sample of 3251 Canada‐based corporations, we establish that indeed different sampling criteria – that is sample size, proportion of financial firms, inclusion of state‐owned enterprises and so on – significantly impacts network properties of corporate elite networks. We establish rather disturbing differences, especially for smaller sample sizes (<100). Subsequently, we develop alternative demarcation criteria of the corporate elite based on a k‐core decomposition. We conclude by emphasizing that the sampling decisions in interlocking directorate studies should much more be carefully be thought through in future research on the topic, both in corporate elite studies and beyond.},
keywords = {boundary, interlocking directorates, sample size},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Corporate elite studies have for long investigated networks of interlocking directorates to test and corroborate key theoretical expectations regarding the cohesive organization of such an elite and their ability and willingness to act on behalf of general business interests. These studies typically collect data on a list of 50, 100, 200 or 500 corporations ranked by economic size, sometimes stratified in sectors. The sampling approach often follows previous studies in order to increase comparability. These relatively arbitrary sampling practices are problematic because they impact the empirical results and our therefore the conclusions drawn from it. Using a sample of 3251 Canada‐based corporations, we establish that indeed different sampling criteria – that is sample size, proportion of financial firms, inclusion of state‐owned enterprises and so on – significantly impacts network properties of corporate elite networks. We establish rather disturbing differences, especially for smaller sample sizes (<100). Subsequently, we develop alternative demarcation criteria of the corporate elite based on a k‐core decomposition. We conclude by emphasizing that the sampling decisions in interlocking directorate studies should much more be carefully be thought through in future research on the topic, both in corporate elite studies and beyond. |
2020
|
Fichtner, J; Heemskerk, E M The New Permanent Universal Owners: Index funds, patient capital, and the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship Journal Article In: Economy & Society, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 493-515, 2020. @article{Fichter2019,
title = {The New Permanent Universal Owners: Index funds, patient capital, and the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship},
author = {J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2020.1781417},
doi = {03085147.2020.1781417},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-11-19},
journal = {Economy & Society},
volume = {49},
number = {4},
pages = {493-515},
abstract = {Fundamental change is happening in global finance – the shift from active management to index funds. This money mass-migration into index funds has far-reaching socio-economic consequences, as it has the potential to transform the nature of shareholder capitalism. We call BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street the ‘New Permanent Universal Owners’ that are invested indefinitely in thousands of firms. We provide novel findings on the combined ownership of the Big Three in European countries and Japan and investigate how this signals a shift away from the shareholder capitalism that has been dominant for the past three decades. We discuss the future role(s) of the New Permanent Universal Owners in corporate governance including whether they foster patient capital and introduce the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship.},
keywords = {asset managers, corporate governance, corporate ownership, feeble, forceful, index funds, shorttermism, varieties of capitalism},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Fundamental change is happening in global finance – the shift from active management to index funds. This money mass-migration into index funds has far-reaching socio-economic consequences, as it has the potential to transform the nature of shareholder capitalism. We call BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street the ‘New Permanent Universal Owners’ that are invested indefinitely in thousands of firms. We provide novel findings on the combined ownership of the Big Three in European countries and Japan and investigate how this signals a shift away from the shareholder capitalism that has been dominant for the past three decades. We discuss the future role(s) of the New Permanent Universal Owners in corporate governance including whether they foster patient capital and introduce the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship. |
Ajdacic, L D; Heemskerk, E. M.; Garcia-Bernardo, J The Wealth Defence Industry: A large-scale study on accountancy firms as profit shifting facilitators Journal Article In: New Political Economy, pp. 1-17, 2020. @article{Ajdacic2019,
title = {The Wealth Defence Industry: A large-scale study on accountancy firms as profit shifting facilitators},
author = {L D Ajdacic and E. M. Heemskerk and J Garcia-Bernardo },
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2020.1816947
},
doi = {13563467.2020.1816947},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-09-21},
journal = {New Political Economy},
pages = {1-17},
abstract = {Corporations increasingly engage in innovative ‘tax planning strategies’ by shifting profits between jurisdictions. In response, states try to curtail such profit shifting activities while at the same time attempting to retain and attract multinational corporations. We aim to open up this dichotomy between states and corporations and argue that a wealth defence industry of professional service firms plays a crucial role as facilitators. We investigate the subsidiary structure of 27,000 MNCs and show that clients of the Big Four accountancy firms show systematically higher levels of aggressive tax planning strategies than clients of smaller accountancy firms. We specify this effect for three distinct strategies and also uncover marked differences across countries. As such we provide empirical evidence for the systematic involvement of auditors as facilitators in corporate wealth defence.},
keywords = {Globalization, multiplex corporate networks, offshore, offshore financial centres, wealth defence},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Corporations increasingly engage in innovative ‘tax planning strategies’ by shifting profits between jurisdictions. In response, states try to curtail such profit shifting activities while at the same time attempting to retain and attract multinational corporations. We aim to open up this dichotomy between states and corporations and argue that a wealth defence industry of professional service firms plays a crucial role as facilitators. We investigate the subsidiary structure of 27,000 MNCs and show that clients of the Big Four accountancy firms show systematically higher levels of aggressive tax planning strategies than clients of smaller accountancy firms. We specify this effect for three distinct strategies and also uncover marked differences across countries. As such we provide empirical evidence for the systematic involvement of auditors as facilitators in corporate wealth defence. |
Babic, M Forging new identities? The erosion of the social base of the liberal international order Online Medium.com 2020. @online{Babic2020c,
title = {Forging new identities? The erosion of the social base of the liberal international order},
author = {M Babic},
url = {https://medium.com/international-affairs-blog/forging-new-identities-the-erosion-of-the-social-base-of-the-liberal-international-order-dd47b46ad69c},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-05-29},
organization = {Medium.com},
abstract = {While the current global public health crisis still rages on in many parts of the world, we can already observe the beginning of social and economic crises in COVID-19’s aftermath. Staggering US unemployment numbers and a looming European recession threatening to break up the Eurozone are just two of the main economic headlines of recent days. Many of these developments are not entirely new, but are embedded in a more comprehensive crisis of the liberal international order (LIO) — crumbling US leadership, a global populist re-orientation towards the nation state, decreasing international cooperation and economic exchange are just some of those phenomena. The current crisis acts as an accelerant to existing trends which I describe in a recent article for International Affairs. In it, I draw on Gramsci to develop a three-dimensional analytical framework which can help to make sense of the ongoing crisis of world order.},
keywords = {COVID-19, Gramsci, liberal international order, LIO},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
While the current global public health crisis still rages on in many parts of the world, we can already observe the beginning of social and economic crises in COVID-19’s aftermath. Staggering US unemployment numbers and a looming European recession threatening to break up the Eurozone are just two of the main economic headlines of recent days. Many of these developments are not entirely new, but are embedded in a more comprehensive crisis of the liberal international order (LIO) — crumbling US leadership, a global populist re-orientation towards the nation state, decreasing international cooperation and economic exchange are just some of those phenomena. The current crisis acts as an accelerant to existing trends which I describe in a recent article for International Affairs. In it, I draw on Gramsci to develop a three-dimensional analytical framework which can help to make sense of the ongoing crisis of world order. |
Reurink, A; Garcia-Bernardo, J Competing for capitals: the great fragmentation of the firm and varieties of FDI attraction profiles in the European Union Journal Article In: Review of International Political Economy, 2020. @article{Reurink2020,
title = {Competing for capitals: the great fragmentation of the firm and varieties of FDI attraction profiles in the European Union},
author = {A Reurink and J Garcia-Bernardo},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2020.1737564},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2020.1737564},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-03-19},
journal = {Review of International Political Economy},
keywords = {FDI, FDI attraction profiles, foreign direct investment, Great fragmentation, holding companies, multinational corporation, tax, tax competition},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
|
Valeeva, D; Heemskerk, E M; Takes, F W The duality of firms and directors in board interlock networks: A relational event modeling approach Journal Article In: Social Networks, vol. 62, pp. 68-79, 2020. @article{Valeeva2020,
title = {The duality of firms and directors in board interlock networks: A relational event modeling approach},
author = {D Valeeva and E M Heemskerk and F W Takes},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378873320300186?},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2020.02.009},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-03-11},
journal = {Social Networks},
volume = {62},
pages = {68-79},
abstract = {The long tradition of scholarly work on corporate interlocks has left us with competing theoretical frameworks on the causes of interlock networks. Board interlocks are studied either as means to overcome the resource dependence of corporations or as a group cohesion mechanism of business elites. This contrast is due to an empirical divide of the literature where either the firms or the individuals are considered as decision-making bodies. In systematically ignoring the agency of the other group of actors, these literatures suffer from both theoretical and empirical biases in understanding the drivers of new interlocks. In this paper, we employ a relational event modeling technique that allows us to overcome this problem. The analysis of board appointments in Denmark demonstrates how in fact both personal and corporate considerations simultaneously drive the evolution of the corporate networks. The study of the duality of actors is essential for understanding the causes and consequences of corporate networks across time and space.},
keywords = {corporate networks, elites, interlocking directorates, relational event modeling},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The long tradition of scholarly work on corporate interlocks has left us with competing theoretical frameworks on the causes of interlock networks. Board interlocks are studied either as means to overcome the resource dependence of corporations or as a group cohesion mechanism of business elites. This contrast is due to an empirical divide of the literature where either the firms or the individuals are considered as decision-making bodies. In systematically ignoring the agency of the other group of actors, these literatures suffer from both theoretical and empirical biases in understanding the drivers of new interlocks. In this paper, we employ a relational event modeling technique that allows us to overcome this problem. The analysis of board appointments in Denmark demonstrates how in fact both personal and corporate considerations simultaneously drive the evolution of the corporate networks. The study of the duality of actors is essential for understanding the causes and consequences of corporate networks across time and space. |
Babic, M The liberal international order is in crisis - here is how we can analyze it Online Progress in Political Economy (PPE) 2020. @online{Babic2020b,
title = {The liberal international order is in crisis - here is how we can analyze it},
author = {M Babic},
url = {http://ppesydney.net/the-liberal-international-order-is-in-crisis-here-is-how-we-can-analyse-it/},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-03-10},
organization = {Progress in Political Economy (PPE)},
abstract = {The crisis of the liberal international order (LIO) might appear as an abstract process, but we experience its consequences on a daily basis. I delineate an analytical framework and offer a range of empirical entry points drawing on a lot of already existing fantastic research on different crisis aspects.},
keywords = {crisis, Gramsci, international relations, liberal international order},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
The crisis of the liberal international order (LIO) might appear as an abstract process, but we experience its consequences on a daily basis. I delineate an analytical framework and offer a range of empirical entry points drawing on a lot of already existing fantastic research on different crisis aspects. |
Fichtner, J; Heemskerk, E M; Petry, J Three financial firms could change the direction of the climate crisis – and few people have any idea Online The Conversation 2020. @online{Fichtner2020,
title = {Three financial firms could change the direction of the climate crisis – and few people have any idea},
author = {J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk and J Petry},
url = {https://theconversation.com/three-financial-firms-could-change-the-direction-of-the-climate-crisis-and-few-people-have-any-idea-131869},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-02-24},
organization = {The Conversation},
keywords = {capital flows, climate crisis, index funds, index providers, passive asset management, private authority, stock market indices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
|
Babic, M Why state capitalism isn’t primarily geopolitical Online International Politics and Society 2020. @online{Babic2020,
title = {Why state capitalism isn’t primarily geopolitical},
author = {M Babic},
url = {https://www.ips-journal.eu/regions/global/article/show/why-state-capitalism-isnt-primarily-geopolitical-4022/},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-24},
organization = {International Politics and Society},
keywords = {geoeconomics, geopolitics, Globalization, state capitalism},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
|
Babic, M Let’s talk about the interregnum: Gramsci and the crisis of the Liberal World Order Journal Article In: International Affairs, vol. 96, no. 3, pp. 767-786, 2020. @article{Babic2019,
title = {Let’s talk about the interregnum: Gramsci and the crisis of the Liberal World Order},
author = {M Babic},
url = {https://academic.oup.com/ia/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ia/iiz254/5712430},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiz254},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-21},
journal = {International Affairs},
volume = {96},
number = {3},
pages = {767-786},
abstract = {The liberal international order (LIO) is in crisis. Numerous publications, debates and events have made it time and again clear that we are in the midst of a grand transformation of world order. While most contributions focus either on what is slowly dying (the LIO) or what might come next (China, multipolarity, chaos?), there is less analytical engagement with what lies in between those two phases of world order. Under the assumption that this period could last years or even decades, a set of analytical tools to understand this interregnum is urgently needed. This paper proposes an analytical framework that builds on Gramscian crisis concepts that will help understanding the current crisis of the LIO in a more systematic way. It adds to a gap in the literature on changing world order by elaborating three Gramsci-inspired crisis characteristics - processuality, organicity and morbidity -
that sketch the current crisis landscape in a systematic way. Building on this framework, the paper suggests different empirical entry points to the study of the crisis of the LIO and calls for a research agenda that takes this crisis seriously as a distinct period of changing world orders.},
keywords = {crisis, Globalization, Gramsci, international political economy, International Politics, international relations, liberal world order},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The liberal international order (LIO) is in crisis. Numerous publications, debates and events have made it time and again clear that we are in the midst of a grand transformation of world order. While most contributions focus either on what is slowly dying (the LIO) or what might come next (China, multipolarity, chaos?), there is less analytical engagement with what lies in between those two phases of world order. Under the assumption that this period could last years or even decades, a set of analytical tools to understand this interregnum is urgently needed. This paper proposes an analytical framework that builds on Gramscian crisis concepts that will help understanding the current crisis of the LIO in a more systematic way. It adds to a gap in the literature on changing world order by elaborating three Gramsci-inspired crisis characteristics - processuality, organicity and morbidity -
that sketch the current crisis landscape in a systematic way. Building on this framework, the paper suggests different empirical entry points to the study of the crisis of the LIO and calls for a research agenda that takes this crisis seriously as a distinct period of changing world orders. |
Fichtner, J; Heemskerk, E M; Petry, J Index funds might sound boring. But who decides which countries and companies to include? Online The Washington Post 2020. @online{FichtnerHeemskerkPetry2020,
title = {Index funds might sound boring. But who decides which countries and companies to include?},
author = {J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk and J Petry},
url = {https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/01/08/index-funds-might-sound-boring-who-decides-which-countries-companies-include/},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-08},
organization = {The Washington Post},
abstract = {Index providers wield a lot of power in global finance — and that raises big political questions.},
keywords = {capital flows, index funds, index providers, passive asset management, private authority, stock market indices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
Index providers wield a lot of power in global finance — and that raises big political questions. |
Pisani, N; Garcia-Bernardo, J; Heemskerk, E M Does it Pay to be a Multinational? A Large‐Sample, Cross‐National Replication Assessing the Multinationality‐Performance Relationship Journal Article In: Strategic Management Journal, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 152-172, 2020. @article{Garcia2019b,
title = {Does it Pay to be a Multinational? A Large‐Sample, Cross‐National Replication Assessing the Multinationality‐Performance Relationship},
author = {N Pisani and J Garcia-Bernardo and E M Heemskerk},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/smj.3087},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3087},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
journal = {Strategic Management Journal},
volume = {41},
number = {1},
pages = {152-172},
abstract = {Does it pay to be a multinational? Despite decades of empirical research, we still do not know. We undertake a large‐sample, cross‐national replication of Lu and Beamish (2004) and Berry and Kaul's (2016) works to examine whether the multinationality‐performance relationship is S‐shaped in a 2009–2016 panel of 889,865 firm‐year observations. Using a two‐stage least squares fixed‐effects model that accounts for endogeneity on a subsample of 32,835 multinationals from 64 countries, we find no evidence of an S‐shaped relationship; nor do we see it in any of the single‐country contexts. Our results show no evidence of any within‐firm effect of multinationality on performance, highlighting the need for more contextually‐grounded research focused on explaining between‐firm effects to advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the multinationality‐performance relationship.},
keywords = {firm performance, multinationality, panel data, replication, S-curve},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Does it pay to be a multinational? Despite decades of empirical research, we still do not know. We undertake a large‐sample, cross‐national replication of Lu and Beamish (2004) and Berry and Kaul's (2016) works to examine whether the multinationality‐performance relationship is S‐shaped in a 2009–2016 panel of 889,865 firm‐year observations. Using a two‐stage least squares fixed‐effects model that accounts for endogeneity on a subsample of 32,835 multinationals from 64 countries, we find no evidence of an S‐shaped relationship; nor do we see it in any of the single‐country contexts. Our results show no evidence of any within‐firm effect of multinationality on performance, highlighting the need for more contextually‐grounded research focused on explaining between‐firm effects to advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the multinationality‐performance relationship. |
2019
|
Petry, J; Fichtner, J; Heemskerk, E M Steering capital: the growing private authority of index providers in the age of passive asset management Journal Article In: Review of International Political Economy, 2019. @article{PetryFichtnerHeemskerk2019b,
title = {Steering capital: the growing private authority of index providers in the age of passive asset management},
author = {J Petry and J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2019.1699147},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2019.1699147},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-12-10},
journal = {Review of International Political Economy},
abstract = {Since the global financial crisis, there is a massive shift of assets towards index funds. Rather than picking stocks, index funds replicate stock indices such as the S&P 500. But where do these indices actually come from? This paper analyzes the politico-economic role of index providers, a small group of highly profitable firms including MSCI, S&P DJI, and FTSE Russell, and develops a research agenda from an IPE perspective. We argue that these index providers have become actors that exercise growing private authority as they steer investments through the indices they create and maintain. While technical expertise is a precondition, their brand is the primary source of index provider authority, which is entrenched through network externalities. Rather than a purely technical exercise, constructing indices is inherently political. Which companies or countries are included into an index or excluded (i.e. receive investment in- or outflows) is based on criteria defined by index providers, thereby setting standards for corporate governance and investor access. Hence, in this new age of passive asset management index providers are becoming gatekeepers that exert de facto regulatory power and thus may have important effects on corporate governance and the economic policies of countries.},
keywords = {capital flows, index funds, index providers, passive asset management, private authority, stock market indices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Since the global financial crisis, there is a massive shift of assets towards index funds. Rather than picking stocks, index funds replicate stock indices such as the S&P 500. But where do these indices actually come from? This paper analyzes the politico-economic role of index providers, a small group of highly profitable firms including MSCI, S&P DJI, and FTSE Russell, and develops a research agenda from an IPE perspective. We argue that these index providers have become actors that exercise growing private authority as they steer investments through the indices they create and maintain. While technical expertise is a precondition, their brand is the primary source of index provider authority, which is entrenched through network externalities. Rather than a purely technical exercise, constructing indices is inherently political. Which companies or countries are included into an index or excluded (i.e. receive investment in- or outflows) is based on criteria defined by index providers, thereby setting standards for corporate governance and investor access. Hence, in this new age of passive asset management index providers are becoming gatekeepers that exert de facto regulatory power and thus may have important effects on corporate governance and the economic policies of countries. |
Babic, M; Garcia-Bernardo, J; Heemskerk, E M The rise of transnational state capital: state-led foreign investment in the 21st century Journal Article In: Review of International Political Economy, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 433-475, 2019. @article{Babic2019db,
title = {The rise of transnational state capital: state-led foreign investment in the 21st century},
author = {M Babic and J Garcia-Bernardo and E M Heemskerk},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2019.1665084},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2019.1665084},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-10-07},
journal = {Review of International Political Economy},
volume = {27},
number = {3},
pages = {433-475},
abstract = {Cross-border state-led investment is a recently rising, but understudied phenomenon of the global political economy. Existing research employs an anecdotal and case-oriented perspective that does not engage in a systemic, large-scale analysis of this rise of transnational state investment and its consequences for the transformation of state power in 21st century capitalism. We take a first step at filling this gap and offer two original contributions: Conceptually, we operationalize transnational foreign state-led investment on the basis of weighted ownership ties. These state capital ties are created by states as investors in corporations around the world. Empirically, we demonstrate our approach by setting up and analyzing the largest dataset on transnational state capital up to date. We show which different outward strategies states as owners employ and classify states according to their relative positions within the global network of transnational state capital. Our results illustrate a crucial aspect of the ongoing transformation of state power and sovereignty within globalization and we demonstrate how a careful and data-driven approach is able to identify different pathways and dimensions of this transformation.},
keywords = {corporate power, foreign direct investment, Globalization, Ownership, state capitalism},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Cross-border state-led investment is a recently rising, but understudied phenomenon of the global political economy. Existing research employs an anecdotal and case-oriented perspective that does not engage in a systemic, large-scale analysis of this rise of transnational state investment and its consequences for the transformation of state power in 21st century capitalism. We take a first step at filling this gap and offer two original contributions: Conceptually, we operationalize transnational foreign state-led investment on the basis of weighted ownership ties. These state capital ties are created by states as investors in corporations around the world. Empirically, we demonstrate our approach by setting up and analyzing the largest dataset on transnational state capital up to date. We show which different outward strategies states as owners employ and classify states according to their relative positions within the global network of transnational state capital. Our results illustrate a crucial aspect of the ongoing transformation of state power and sovereignty within globalization and we demonstrate how a careful and data-driven approach is able to identify different pathways and dimensions of this transformation. |
Babic, M Why Globalization was Not the End of State Power Online Global Policy Journal 2019. @online{Babic2019d,
title = {Why Globalization was Not the End of State Power},
author = {M Babic},
url = {https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/11/09/2019/why-globalization-was-not-end-state-power},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-09-11},
organization = {Global Policy Journal},
abstract = {Milan Babic argues that states’ strategic adaptation to neoliberal globalization grants them new powers in international politics.},
keywords = {Globalization, International Politics, State Power},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
Milan Babic argues that states’ strategic adaptation to neoliberal globalization grants them new powers in international politics. |
Babic, M Reclaiming the commons through state ownership? Maybe not Online Open Democracy 2019. @online{Babic2019c,
title = {Reclaiming the commons through state ownership? Maybe not},
author = {M Babic},
url = {https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/reclaiming-commons-through-state-ownership-maybe-not/},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-30},
organization = {Open Democracy},
abstract = { Is state ownership really a viable alternative for a post-neoliberal, more inclusive and emancipatory global economy? While this is an open question, I lay out three arguments in the following that challenge this emancipatory promise - with the hope of stimulating a discussion about the nature of the role of state ownership in a globalized economy.},
keywords = {corporate power, corporations, Globalization, state capitalism, State ownership},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
Is state ownership really a viable alternative for a post-neoliberal, more inclusive and emancipatory global economy? While this is an open question, I lay out three arguments in the following that challenge this emancipatory promise - with the hope of stimulating a discussion about the nature of the role of state ownership in a globalized economy. |
Janssen, Thomas Chinese Firms in the Belt and Road Initiative: Building a Passive Revolution Masters Thesis 2019. @mastersthesis{Janssen2019,
title = {Chinese Firms in the Belt and Road Initiative: Building a Passive Revolution},
author = {Janssen, Thomas},
url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/thesis_janssen_11054603/},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-12},
abstract = {The Belt and Road Initiative is in crisis because many participants are worried about dept trap
diplomacy and not sharing equally in the benefits. How can it be then that Chinese companies are
still receiving the vast majority of Belt and Road construction contracts? This thesis seeks to
contribute to an answer to this question. By invoking the concept of passive revolution as a
theoretical lens, it argues that the Chinese elite is more likely to favor contract allocation to
companies that are more controlled by it, especially in economic sectors that are more important to
their interests. Four categories of companies are constructed on a continuum from most to least
central Party controlled. Contracts are split among three sectors that are, domestically, tightly
regulated (‘strategic’), less regulated (‘pillar’) and least regulated (‘normal’). The thesis finds that
centrally controlled state-owned enterprises account for over 90% of Chinese-funded Belt and Road
construction contracts. The Chinese political elite is found to be even more eager to control the Belt
and Road than its domestic economy. Future research will have to take stock of, and further
examine, why Chinese state-owned companies feature so prominently in the Belt and Road.},
keywords = {Belt and Road, China, corporate power, Ownership, state capitalism, State ownership, states},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {mastersthesis}
}
The Belt and Road Initiative is in crisis because many participants are worried about dept trap
diplomacy and not sharing equally in the benefits. How can it be then that Chinese companies are
still receiving the vast majority of Belt and Road construction contracts? This thesis seeks to
contribute to an answer to this question. By invoking the concept of passive revolution as a
theoretical lens, it argues that the Chinese elite is more likely to favor contract allocation to
companies that are more controlled by it, especially in economic sectors that are more important to
their interests. Four categories of companies are constructed on a continuum from most to least
central Party controlled. Contracts are split among three sectors that are, domestically, tightly
regulated (‘strategic’), less regulated (‘pillar’) and least regulated (‘normal’). The thesis finds that
centrally controlled state-owned enterprises account for over 90% of Chinese-funded Belt and Road
construction contracts. The Chinese political elite is found to be even more eager to control the Belt
and Road than its domestic economy. Future research will have to take stock of, and further
examine, why Chinese state-owned companies feature so prominently in the Belt and Road. |
Vermeij, Koen The offshore state: A first large-scale inquiry into the state’s utilization of offshore constructs Masters Thesis 2019. @mastersthesis{Vermeij2019,
title = {The offshore state: A first large-scale inquiry into the state’s utilization of offshore constructs},
author = {Koen Vermeij},
url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/masters-thesis-koen-vermeij-2/},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-11},
abstract = {As a consequence of globalization and financialization, it has become common practice for
transnational corporations to develop offshore constructs in order to maximize income and minimize
costs and accountability. Offshore constructs allow companies to transfer financial resources across
borders to the most advantageous places. The common conception is that this puts states in a game
of economic competition. The state’s strategy to deal with this situation is to lower regulatory and
fiscal standards in order to develop an inviting destination for capital. This way they facilitate the use
of offshore constructs. However, piecemeal evidence suggests that states do not only facilitate
offshore constructs, but that they also actively utilize them as owners of capital themselves. This
research uses large-scale quantitative data on ownership relations to develop a global image of state’s
offshore constructs. The findings indicate that states indeed use offshore constructs on a considerable
scale, but that 90% of them belongs to a group of 20 states. It is the first large-scale evidence for the
state’s usage of offshore constructs.},
keywords = {corporate structures, offshore, offshore construct, offshore financial centres, offshore jurisdictions, state capitalism, State ownership, transnational state investment},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {mastersthesis}
}
As a consequence of globalization and financialization, it has become common practice for
transnational corporations to develop offshore constructs in order to maximize income and minimize
costs and accountability. Offshore constructs allow companies to transfer financial resources across
borders to the most advantageous places. The common conception is that this puts states in a game
of economic competition. The state’s strategy to deal with this situation is to lower regulatory and
fiscal standards in order to develop an inviting destination for capital. This way they facilitate the use
of offshore constructs. However, piecemeal evidence suggests that states do not only facilitate
offshore constructs, but that they also actively utilize them as owners of capital themselves. This
research uses large-scale quantitative data on ownership relations to develop a global image of state’s
offshore constructs. The findings indicate that states indeed use offshore constructs on a considerable
scale, but that 90% of them belongs to a group of 20 states. It is the first large-scale evidence for the
state’s usage of offshore constructs. |
Thijssen, N. M. Y. Stewardship in the age of the new permanent owners Masters Thesis 2019. @mastersthesis{Thijssen2019,
title = {Stewardship in the age of the new permanent owners},
author = {Thijssen, N. M. Y.},
url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/wp-content/uploads/Thesis-Nele-Thijssen-Final-.pdf},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-08},
abstract = {The rise of passive investing has led to the concentration of ownership in the hands of ‘The Big Three’,
major asset managers that dominate the passive asset industry: BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. This
study analyses how the Big Three approach investment stewardship and what incentivises them to influence
their investee companies to integrate the principles of environment, social and governance (ESG)
responsibility. Based on expert interviews three central trends can be identified that contribute to an increase
of the stewardship activities of the Big Three: increased investor appetite, growing regulation and the
materialisation of ESG principles. Both private and public investors increasingly demand a growing ESG
related stewardship role of the Big Three. Their inability to sell shares puts the Big Three in a ‘partner
position’ with their investee companies, which contributes to the adoptation of an enhanced stewardship role.
The stewardship strategy of the Big Three consists of three elements: monitoring, voting and engagement.
Their engagement strategy can be characterised as event-driven with a focus on severe ESG
underperformers. The Big Three are inclined to approach their investee companies based on a fundamentally
positive thrust and adhere to a long-term perspective on the improvement of their ESG performance.
However, the Big Three remain hesitant, potentially due to a fear for a regulatory backlash, to fully utilise
their influential ownership position to push their investee companies to integrate ESG principles.},
keywords = {active ownership, engagement, ESG, ownership concentration, stewardship, The Big Three},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {mastersthesis}
}
The rise of passive investing has led to the concentration of ownership in the hands of ‘The Big Three’,
major asset managers that dominate the passive asset industry: BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. This
study analyses how the Big Three approach investment stewardship and what incentivises them to influence
their investee companies to integrate the principles of environment, social and governance (ESG)
responsibility. Based on expert interviews three central trends can be identified that contribute to an increase
of the stewardship activities of the Big Three: increased investor appetite, growing regulation and the
materialisation of ESG principles. Both private and public investors increasingly demand a growing ESG
related stewardship role of the Big Three. Their inability to sell shares puts the Big Three in a ‘partner
position’ with their investee companies, which contributes to the adoptation of an enhanced stewardship role.
The stewardship strategy of the Big Three consists of three elements: monitoring, voting and engagement.
Their engagement strategy can be characterised as event-driven with a focus on severe ESG
underperformers. The Big Three are inclined to approach their investee companies based on a fundamentally
positive thrust and adhere to a long-term perspective on the improvement of their ESG performance.
However, the Big Three remain hesitant, potentially due to a fear for a regulatory backlash, to fully utilise
their influential ownership position to push their investee companies to integrate ESG principles. |
Hansen, D. S. Investigating the effect of firm financialization on effective tax rates Masters Thesis 2019. @mastersthesis{Hansen2019b,
title = {Investigating the effect of firm financialization on effective tax rates},
author = {Hansen, D. S.},
url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/wp-content/uploads/dsh_thesis-4.pdf},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-03},
abstract = {This thesis discusses the effects of financialization, along with the firm-level driversproviding incentive for firms to engage this process. It presents argument and evi-dence for firms using the financialization of productive capital to lower their effectivetax rate by eroding their taxable base. Empirically, this is done by designating fi-nancialization as the increasing economic importance of intangible assets at thelevel of the firm. Based on a large sample of approximately 4 million firms fromthe Orbis database, the reported results are robust against controlling for firm sizealong with other relevant firm-level aspects, firm fixed effects and varying countrycharacteristics.},
keywords = {base erosion, effective tax rates, Financialization, intangible assets},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {mastersthesis}
}
This thesis discusses the effects of financialization, along with the firm-level driversproviding incentive for firms to engage this process. It presents argument and evi-dence for firms using the financialization of productive capital to lower their effectivetax rate by eroding their taxable base. Empirically, this is done by designating fi-nancialization as the increasing economic importance of intangible assets at thelevel of the firm. Based on a large sample of approximately 4 million firms fromthe Orbis database, the reported results are robust against controlling for firm sizealong with other relevant firm-level aspects, firm fixed effects and varying countrycharacteristics. |
Van Straalen, L. The Resilient European Corporate Community: Evidence from the European network of interlocking directorates between 2005 and 2018 Masters Thesis 2019. @mastersthesis{vanStraalen2019,
title = {The Resilient European Corporate Community: Evidence from the European network of interlocking directorates between 2005 and 2018},
author = {Van Straalen, L.},
url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/wp-content/uploads/Van-Straalen-L.-Bachelor-Thesis.pdf},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-06-03},
abstract = {The European network of interlocking directorates is an important backbone of European integration, connecting the transnational European corporate elite. In this thesis, I analyzed the development of the European IDN between 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 with two new datasets. The findings show that after a period of growth between 2005 and 2010, the European corporate network decreased in connectivity during the financial crisis. After 2015, the European IDN started growing again, proving its resilience. This study of the development of the European IDN, its core of firms and directors and the first effects of Brexit on the British connectivity to the European corporate elite, shows that with Euroscepticism and nationalism on the rise, the European corporate community might yet again prove to be of great importance in influencing the future of the European Union.},
keywords = {board of directors, business elites, corporate governance, Eurocrisis, European Union, interlocking directorates, networks},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {mastersthesis}
}
The European network of interlocking directorates is an important backbone of European integration, connecting the transnational European corporate elite. In this thesis, I analyzed the development of the European IDN between 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 with two new datasets. The findings show that after a period of growth between 2005 and 2010, the European corporate network decreased in connectivity during the financial crisis. After 2015, the European IDN started growing again, proving its resilience. This study of the development of the European IDN, its core of firms and directors and the first effects of Brexit on the British connectivity to the European corporate elite, shows that with Euroscepticism and nationalism on the rise, the European corporate community might yet again prove to be of great importance in influencing the future of the European Union. |
Babic, M Stabilisierung, Vertiefung und Konsolidierung der Economic Governance: Elitenstrategien in der europäischen Krise Book Chapter In: pp. 109-138, Springer VS, Wiesbaden, 2019, ISBN: 2625-8749. @inbook{Babic2019b,
title = {Stabilisierung, Vertiefung und Konsolidierung der Economic Governance: Elitenstrategien in der europäischen Krise},
author = {M Babic},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25037-9_5},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25037-9_5},
isbn = {2625-8749},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-05-15},
pages = {109-138},
publisher = {Springer VS},
address = {Wiesbaden},
series = {Neue Segel, alter Kurs? Die Eurokrise und ihre Folgen für das europäische Wirtschaftsregieren},
abstract = {Existing scholarship showed that European economic elites were crucially involved in the creation and design of both, the European integration path in general as well as a neoliberally shaped economic governance in specific. The European financial and debt crisis imperiled this integration project and its neoliberal course. What does this crisis and its induced transformations mean for the strategic outlook of the European economic elites? In order to answer this question, this article sheds light on the different crisis phases from the perspective of these actors and their strategic decision-making vis-à-vis the crisis. These strategic positions are elaborated from publications of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) as the central organization forum of the European economic elite and are embedded in the overall crisis dynamics. I show how the strategic outlook of the ERT changes in different crisis phases from a stabilization of the economic governance (2007-2009), its deepening (2009-2012) to its consolidation in the third phase (from 2013 onwards). I close by assessing that this consolidation of the neoliberal economic governance could remain only a temporary fix, not being able to calm the growing resistance against a further neoliberalization of the economic governance from both sides of the political spectrum and hence result in a break-up of the integration project itself in the medium run.},
keywords = {capitalism, class, elites, ERT, europe, interlocks},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
Existing scholarship showed that European economic elites were crucially involved in the creation and design of both, the European integration path in general as well as a neoliberally shaped economic governance in specific. The European financial and debt crisis imperiled this integration project and its neoliberal course. What does this crisis and its induced transformations mean for the strategic outlook of the European economic elites? In order to answer this question, this article sheds light on the different crisis phases from the perspective of these actors and their strategic decision-making vis-à-vis the crisis. These strategic positions are elaborated from publications of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) as the central organization forum of the European economic elite and are embedded in the overall crisis dynamics. I show how the strategic outlook of the ERT changes in different crisis phases from a stabilization of the economic governance (2007-2009), its deepening (2009-2012) to its consolidation in the third phase (from 2013 onwards). I close by assessing that this consolidation of the neoliberal economic governance could remain only a temporary fix, not being able to calm the growing resistance against a further neoliberalization of the economic governance from both sides of the political spectrum and hence result in a break-up of the integration project itself in the medium run. |
2018
|
Reurink, A; Garcia-Bernardo, J Competing with whom? For what? And how? The great fragmentation of the firm, FDI attraction profiles, and the structure of international tax competition in the European Union Journal Article Forthcoming In: SocArXiv-preprint, Forthcoming. @article{reurinkgarcia2019,
title = {Competing with whom? For what? And how? The great fragmentation of the firm, FDI attraction profiles, and the structure of international tax competition in the European Union},
author = {A Reurink and J Garcia-Bernardo
},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/7ugbr},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/7ugbr},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-12-19},
journal = {SocArXiv-preprint},
abstract = {International tax competition is generally framed as states competing for foreign direct investment (FDI), and analyses of the phenomenon draw heavily on FDI statistics. In and of themselves, however, FDI statistics are merely a quantification of the value of investment projects and tell us little about the heterogeneity of these projects and the distinct patterns of competitive dynamics between countries they generate. In this article, we create a more sophisticated understanding of international tax competition by pointing out its variegated nature. To do so, we introduce the notion of the “great fragmentation of the firm” to distinguish between five categories of FDI: manufacturing affiliates, shared service centers, R&D facilities, intermediate holding companies and top holding companies. Using a novel combination of firm-level and country-level data, we identify for each of these different categories of FDI which European Union member states are most successful in attracting it, what macro-institutional and tax arrangements they use to do so, and what benefits they receive from it in terms of tax revenues and employment creation. In this way we were able to identify five distinct FDI attraction profiles and show that, rather than being a game of all against all, tax competition in the European Union increasingly takes place amongst subsets of countries that compete for similar categories of FDI.},
keywords = {foreign direct investment, tax competition},
pubstate = {forthcoming},
tppubtype = {article}
}
International tax competition is generally framed as states competing for foreign direct investment (FDI), and analyses of the phenomenon draw heavily on FDI statistics. In and of themselves, however, FDI statistics are merely a quantification of the value of investment projects and tell us little about the heterogeneity of these projects and the distinct patterns of competitive dynamics between countries they generate. In this article, we create a more sophisticated understanding of international tax competition by pointing out its variegated nature. To do so, we introduce the notion of the “great fragmentation of the firm” to distinguish between five categories of FDI: manufacturing affiliates, shared service centers, R&D facilities, intermediate holding companies and top holding companies. Using a novel combination of firm-level and country-level data, we identify for each of these different categories of FDI which European Union member states are most successful in attracting it, what macro-institutional and tax arrangements they use to do so, and what benefits they receive from it in terms of tax revenues and employment creation. In this way we were able to identify five distinct FDI attraction profiles and show that, rather than being a game of all against all, tax competition in the European Union increasingly takes place amongst subsets of countries that compete for similar categories of FDI. |
Takes, F W; Kosters, W A; Witte, B; Heemskerk, E M Multiplex network motifs as building blocks of corporate networks Journal Article In: Applied Network Science, Springer, vol. 3, no. 39, pp. 1-22, 2018. @article{Takes2018,
title = {Multiplex network motifs as building blocks of corporate networks},
author = {F W Takes and W A Kosters and B Witte and E M Heemskerk},
url = {https://appliednetsci.springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1007/s41109-018-0094-z},
doi = {doi:10.1007/s41109-018-0094-z},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-12-14},
journal = {Applied Network Science, Springer},
volume = {3},
number = {39},
pages = {1-22},
abstract = {In corporate networks, firms are connected through links of corporate ownership and shared directors, connecting the control over major economic actors in our economies in meaningful and consequential ways. Most research thus far focused on the connectedness of firms as a result of one particular link type, analyzing node-specific metrics or global network-based methods to gain insights in the modelled corporate system.
In this paper, we aim to understand multiplex corporate networks with multiple types of connections, specifically investigating the network’s essential building blocks: multiplex network motifs. Motifs, which are small subgraph patterns occurring at significantly higher frequencies than in similar random networks, have demonstrated their usefulness in understanding the structure of many types of real-world networks. However, detecting motifs in multiplex networks is nontrivial for two reasons. First of all, there are no out-of-the-box subgraph enumeration algorithms for multiplex networks. Second, existing null models to test network motif significance, are unable to incorporate the interlayer dependencies in the multiplex network. We solve these two issues by introducing a layer encoding algorithm that incorporates the multiplex aspect in the subgraph enumeration phase. In addition, we propose a null model that is able to preserve the interlayer connectedness, while taking into account that one of the link types is actually the result of a projection of an underlying bipartite network.
The experimental section considers the corporate network of Germany, in which tens of thousands of firms are connected through several hundred thousand links. We demonstrate how incorporating the multiplex aspect in motif detection is able to reveal new insights that could not be obtained by studying only one type of relationship. In a general sense, the motifs reflect known corporate governance practices related to the monitoring of investments and the concentration of ownership. A substantial fraction of the discovered motifs is typical for an industrialized country such as Germany, whereas others seem specific for certain economic sectors. Interestingly, we find that motifs involving financial firms are over-represented amongst the larger and more complex motifs. This demonstrates the prominent role of the financial sector in Germany’s largely industry-oriented corporate network.},
keywords = {corporate ownership, multiplex corporate networks, network motifs},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In corporate networks, firms are connected through links of corporate ownership and shared directors, connecting the control over major economic actors in our economies in meaningful and consequential ways. Most research thus far focused on the connectedness of firms as a result of one particular link type, analyzing node-specific metrics or global network-based methods to gain insights in the modelled corporate system.
In this paper, we aim to understand multiplex corporate networks with multiple types of connections, specifically investigating the network’s essential building blocks: multiplex network motifs. Motifs, which are small subgraph patterns occurring at significantly higher frequencies than in similar random networks, have demonstrated their usefulness in understanding the structure of many types of real-world networks. However, detecting motifs in multiplex networks is nontrivial for two reasons. First of all, there are no out-of-the-box subgraph enumeration algorithms for multiplex networks. Second, existing null models to test network motif significance, are unable to incorporate the interlayer dependencies in the multiplex network. We solve these two issues by introducing a layer encoding algorithm that incorporates the multiplex aspect in the subgraph enumeration phase. In addition, we propose a null model that is able to preserve the interlayer connectedness, while taking into account that one of the link types is actually the result of a projection of an underlying bipartite network.
The experimental section considers the corporate network of Germany, in which tens of thousands of firms are connected through several hundred thousand links. We demonstrate how incorporating the multiplex aspect in motif detection is able to reveal new insights that could not be obtained by studying only one type of relationship. In a general sense, the motifs reflect known corporate governance practices related to the monitoring of investments and the concentration of ownership. A substantial fraction of the discovered motifs is typical for an industrialized country such as Germany, whereas others seem specific for certain economic sectors. Interestingly, we find that motifs involving financial firms are over-represented amongst the larger and more complex motifs. This demonstrates the prominent role of the financial sector in Germany’s largely industry-oriented corporate network. |
Garcia-Bernardo, J; Takes, F W The Effects of Data Quality on the Analysis of Corporate Board Interlock Networks Journal Article In: Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 78, pp. 164-172, 2018. @article{DataQuality,
title = {The Effects of Data Quality on the Analysis of Corporate Board Interlock Networks},
author = {J Garcia-Bernardo and F W Takes},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306437917302272},
doi = {10.1016/j.is.2017.10.005},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-11-15},
journal = {Information Systems, Elsevier},
volume = {78},
pages = {164-172},
abstract = {Nowadays, social network data of ever increasing size is gathered, stored and analyzed by researchers from a range of disciplines. This data is often automatically gathered from API’s, websites or existing databases. As a result, the quality of this data is typically not manually validated, and the resulting social networks may be based on false, biased or incomplete data. In this paper, we investigate the effect of data quality issues on the analysis of large networks. We focus on the global board interlock network, in which nodes represent firms across the globe, and edges model social ties between firms – shared board members holding a position at both firms. First, we demonstrate how we can automatically assess the completeness of a large dataset of 160 million firms, in which data is missing not at random. Second, we present a novel method to increase the accuracy of the entries in our data. By comparing the expected and empirical characteristics of the resulting network topology, we develop a technique that automatically prunes and merges duplicate nodes and edges. Third, we use a case study of the board interlock network of Sweden to show how poor quality data results in distorted network topologies, incorrect community division, biased centrality values and abnormal influence spread under a well-known diffusion model. Finally, we demonstrate how the proposed data quality assessment methods help restore the network structure, ultimately allowing us to derive meaningful and correct results from the analysis of the network.},
keywords = {assessment methods, data quality, global board interlock network, social networks},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Nowadays, social network data of ever increasing size is gathered, stored and analyzed by researchers from a range of disciplines. This data is often automatically gathered from API’s, websites or existing databases. As a result, the quality of this data is typically not manually validated, and the resulting social networks may be based on false, biased or incomplete data. In this paper, we investigate the effect of data quality issues on the analysis of large networks. We focus on the global board interlock network, in which nodes represent firms across the globe, and edges model social ties between firms – shared board members holding a position at both firms. First, we demonstrate how we can automatically assess the completeness of a large dataset of 160 million firms, in which data is missing not at random. Second, we present a novel method to increase the accuracy of the entries in our data. By comparing the expected and empirical characteristics of the resulting network topology, we develop a technique that automatically prunes and merges duplicate nodes and edges. Third, we use a case study of the board interlock network of Sweden to show how poor quality data results in distorted network topologies, incorrect community division, biased centrality values and abnormal influence spread under a well-known diffusion model. Finally, we demonstrate how the proposed data quality assessment methods help restore the network structure, ultimately allowing us to derive meaningful and correct results from the analysis of the network. |
Bogaardt, L; Takes, F W Estimating Subgraph Generation Models to Understand Large Network Formation Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the 14th IEEE International Conference on e-Science, pp. 375-376, IEEE, 2018. @inproceedings{Bogaardt2018,
title = {Estimating Subgraph Generation Models to Understand Large Network Formation},
author = {L Bogaardt and F W Takes},
url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329955901_Estimating_Subgraph_Generation_Models_to_Understand_Large_Network_Formation},
doi = {10.1109/eScience.2018.00106},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-10-30},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 14th IEEE International Conference on e-Science},
pages = {375-376},
publisher = {IEEE},
keywords = {IEEE, large network formation, subgraph generation models},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
|
van Kuppevelt, D E; Takes, F W; Heemskerk, E M Understanding evolving communities in transnational board interlock networks Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the 14th IEEE International Conference on e-Science, pp. 312-313, IEEE, 2018. @inproceedings{vanKuppevelt2018,
title = {Understanding evolving communities in transnational board interlock networks},
author = { D E van Kuppevelt and F W Takes and E M Heemskerk},
url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8588688},
doi = { 10.1109/eScience.2018.00069},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-10-30},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 14th IEEE International Conference on e-Science},
pages = {312-313},
publisher = {IEEE},
keywords = {communities, networks, transnational board interlocks},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
|
Heemskerk, E M; Leaver, A If this is capitalism, where are the price signals?: The glacial effects of passive investment Online SPERI, (Ed.): 2018. @online{HeemskerkLeaver2018,
title = {If this is capitalism, where are the price signals?: The glacial effects of passive investment},
author = {E M Heemskerk and A Leaver},
editor = {SPERI},
url = {http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/2018/09/03/if-this-is-capitalism-where-are-the-price-signals-the-glacial-effects-of-passive-investment/},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-09-03},
abstract = {In the 10 years since the 2008 crash, the ‘passive-aggressive’ tendencies of large index funds have reshaped how modern capitalism operates},
keywords = {financial flows, index funds, passive investing},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
In the 10 years since the 2008 crash, the ‘passive-aggressive’ tendencies of large index funds have reshaped how modern capitalism operates |
Babic, M Actors, Not Markets: Bringing Corporate Power Back in International Studies Journal Article In: International Studies Review, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 175-176, 2018. @article{Babic2018,
title = {Actors, Not Markets: Bringing Corporate Power Back in International Studies},
author = {M Babic},
url = {https://academic.oup.com/isr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/isr/viy059/5063604},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viy059},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-08-01},
journal = {International Studies Review},
volume = {21},
number = {1},
pages = {175-176},
keywords = {corporations, Globalization, power, states},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
|
Babic, M; Heemskerk, E M; Fichtner, J Who is more powerful – states or corporations? Online The Conversation 2018. @online{statesorcorps,
title = {Who is more powerful – states or corporations?},
author = {M Babic and E M Heemskerk and J Fichtner},
url = {http://theconversation.com/who-is-more-powerful-states-or-corporations-99616},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-07-10},
organization = {The Conversation},
abstract = {Who holds the power in international politics? Most people would probably say it’s the largest states in the global system. The current landscape of international relations seems to affirm this intuition: new Russian geopolitics, “America First” and Chinese state-led global expansion, among others, seem to put state power back in charge after decades of globalisation.
Yet multinationals like Apple and Starbucks still wield phenomenal power. They oversee huge supply chains, sell products all over the world, and help mould international politics to their interests. In some respects, multinationals have governments at their beck and call – witness their consistent success at dodging tax payments. So when it comes to international politics, are states really calling the shots?},
keywords = {Globalization},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
Who holds the power in international politics? Most people would probably say it’s the largest states in the global system. The current landscape of international relations seems to affirm this intuition: new Russian geopolitics, “America First” and Chinese state-led global expansion, among others, seem to put state power back in charge after decades of globalisation.
Yet multinationals like Apple and Starbucks still wield phenomenal power. They oversee huge supply chains, sell products all over the world, and help mould international politics to their interests. In some respects, multinationals have governments at their beck and call – witness their consistent success at dodging tax payments. So when it comes to international politics, are states really calling the shots? |
Majiti, O Are the Sleeping Giants Awakening? An Investigation into the Investment Stewardship Efforts of the Big Three Passive Investment Managers Masters Thesis University of Amsterdam, 2018. @mastersthesis{Oumaima,
title = {Are the Sleeping Giants Awakening? An Investigation into the Investment Stewardship Efforts of the Big Three Passive Investment Managers},
author = {O Majiti},
url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/oumaimamajiti_11047488_scriptie-3/},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-06-27},
school = {University of Amsterdam},
abstract = {Since the 2008 financial crisis there has been a rise in passive investment strategies, resulting in a re-concentration of ownership in the hands of the Big Three passive investment managers: BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors (SSGA). These asset managers have expressed that even though they deploy passive investment strategies, they are not passive owners. The passive asset managers actively promote environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards to their investee companies, aiming to protect and ensure long-term value creation for their clients. The two main tools of this investment stewardship approach, as it has been dubbed, are voting against management in shareholder meetings and company engagements. Many people have expressed their concerns over BlackRock, Vanguard and SSGA stepping up their investment stewardship responsibilities. The biggest concern is that the index managers, and more specifically the small group of investment stewardship team members, can potentially influence the corporate governance decision-making of a large number of firms, especially through the behind-closed-doors engagements. This thesis shows that whether and to what extent the Big Three have stepped up their investment stewardship efforts differs strongly. BlackRock hasn’t increased both its votes against management and number of engagements, Vanguard has increased its number of engagements but votes less often against management and SSGA has increased both its votes against management and number of engagements. At the same time, BlackRock has been the most vocal about stepping up its investment stewardship efforts. This thesis lastly shows that the Big Three’s investment stewardship teams strongly differ in recruitment style and composition. },
keywords = {Big Three},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {mastersthesis}
}
Since the 2008 financial crisis there has been a rise in passive investment strategies, resulting in a re-concentration of ownership in the hands of the Big Three passive investment managers: BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors (SSGA). These asset managers have expressed that even though they deploy passive investment strategies, they are not passive owners. The passive asset managers actively promote environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards to their investee companies, aiming to protect and ensure long-term value creation for their clients. The two main tools of this investment stewardship approach, as it has been dubbed, are voting against management in shareholder meetings and company engagements. Many people have expressed their concerns over BlackRock, Vanguard and SSGA stepping up their investment stewardship responsibilities. The biggest concern is that the index managers, and more specifically the small group of investment stewardship team members, can potentially influence the corporate governance decision-making of a large number of firms, especially through the behind-closed-doors engagements. This thesis shows that whether and to what extent the Big Three have stepped up their investment stewardship efforts differs strongly. BlackRock hasn’t increased both its votes against management and number of engagements, Vanguard has increased its number of engagements but votes less often against management and SSGA has increased both its votes against management and number of engagements. At the same time, BlackRock has been the most vocal about stepping up its investment stewardship efforts. This thesis lastly shows that the Big Three’s investment stewardship teams strongly differ in recruitment style and composition. |
Fichtner, J Meet the New Owners of Corporate America Online Cambridge Core Blog 2018. @online{meetthenew,
title = {Meet the New Owners of Corporate America},
author = {J Fichtner},
url = {http://blog.journals.cambridge.org/2018/05/23/meet-the-new-owners-of-corporate-america/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Hootsuite&utm_campaign=JMO%20May%2018},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-05-23},
journal = {Cambridge Core Blog},
organization = {Cambridge Core Blog},
abstract = {A seismic shift is going on in finance still largely unnoticed by the public. People and institutions are increasingly investing their money into index tracker funds instead of actively managed mutual funds. Index funds simply buy shares of all firms that are part of an index. Therefore, they can charge significantly lower fees to their investors — there is no well-paid fund manager that tries to beat the market. Besides low fees, they offer similar returns to active funds, as the latter have not been able to consistently beat major stock indexes, such as the S&P500. The scale of this money migration is astounding. Between 2008 and 2016, about US$1,200 billion left actively managed funds, while approximately US$1,400 billion moved into index funds.},
keywords = {Ownership},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
A seismic shift is going on in finance still largely unnoticed by the public. People and institutions are increasingly investing their money into index tracker funds instead of actively managed mutual funds. Index funds simply buy shares of all firms that are part of an index. Therefore, they can charge significantly lower fees to their investors — there is no well-paid fund manager that tries to beat the market. Besides low fees, they offer similar returns to active funds, as the latter have not been able to consistently beat major stock indexes, such as the S&P500. The scale of this money migration is astounding. Between 2008 and 2016, about US$1,200 billion left actively managed funds, while approximately US$1,400 billion moved into index funds. |
Babic, M Why we need to talk about the state in globalization Online Medium.com 2018. @online{stateglobalization,
title = {Why we need to talk about the state in globalization},
author = {M Babic},
url = {https://medium.com/@mbabic_1/why-we-need-to-talk-about-the-state-in-globalization-b37234dd4268},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-03-04},
organization = {Medium.com},
abstract = {In current international studies, the idea of globalization is omni-present and probably the key background concept to most research efforts. The other side of this globalization-coin — namely the state — only recently got back on the agenda of scholars, but still lacks the broad recognition as a core category in understanding globalization. I first propose to engage more in discussions about state power in the global economy in order to broaden our understanding of current global transformations. Second, I suggest a categorization of the main ambiguities in thinking about state as a concept today. I end with the call to being open to these ambiguities in our efforts to understand state and corporate power in the 21st century.},
keywords = {Globalization},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
In current international studies, the idea of globalization is omni-present and probably the key background concept to most research efforts. The other side of this globalization-coin — namely the state — only recently got back on the agenda of scholars, but still lacks the broad recognition as a core category in understanding globalization. I first propose to engage more in discussions about state power in the global economy in order to broaden our understanding of current global transformations. Second, I suggest a categorization of the main ambiguities in thinking about state as a concept today. I end with the call to being open to these ambiguities in our efforts to understand state and corporate power in the 21st century. |
Heemskerk, E M; Young, K; Takes, F W; Cronin, B; Garcia-Bernardo, J; Popov, V; Winecoff, W K; Henriksen, L F; Laurin-Lamonthe, A The Promise and Perils of Using Big Data in the Study of Corporate Networks: Problems, Diagnostics and Fixes Journal Article In: Global Networks, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 3-32, 2018. @article{BigData,
title = { The Promise and Perils of Using Big Data in the Study of Corporate Networks: Problems, Diagnostics and Fixes},
author = {E M Heemskerk and K Young and F W Takes and B Cronin and J Garcia-Bernardo and V Popov and W K Winecoff and L F Henriksen and A Laurin-Lamonthe},
url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/glob.12183/full},
doi = {10.1111/glob.12183},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Global Networks},
volume = {18},
number = {1},
pages = {3-32},
abstract = {Network data on connections between corporate actors and entities – for instance through co-ownership ties or elite social networks – are increasingly available to researchers interested in probing the many important questions related to the study of modern capitalism. Given the analytical challenges associated with the nature of the subject matter, variable data quality and other problems associated with currently available data on this scale, we discuss the promise and perils of using big corporate network data (BCND). We propose a standard procedure for helping researchers deal with BCND problems. While acknowledging that different research questions require different approaches to data quality, we offer a schematic platform that researchers can follow to make informed and intelligent decisions about BCND issues and address these through a specific work-flow procedure. For each step in this procedure, we provide a set of best practices for how to identify, resolve and minimize the BCND problems that arise.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Network data on connections between corporate actors and entities – for instance through co-ownership ties or elite social networks – are increasingly available to researchers interested in probing the many important questions related to the study of modern capitalism. Given the analytical challenges associated with the nature of the subject matter, variable data quality and other problems associated with currently available data on this scale, we discuss the promise and perils of using big corporate network data (BCND). We propose a standard procedure for helping researchers deal with BCND problems. While acknowledging that different research questions require different approaches to data quality, we offer a schematic platform that researchers can follow to make informed and intelligent decisions about BCND issues and address these through a specific work-flow procedure. For each step in this procedure, we provide a set of best practices for how to identify, resolve and minimize the BCND problems that arise. |
Fennema, M; Heemskerk, E M When Theory Meets Methods: The Naissance of Computer Assisted Corporate Interlock Research Journal Article In: Global Networks, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 81-104, 2018. @article{Naissance,
title = {When Theory Meets Methods: The Naissance of Computer Assisted Corporate Interlock Research},
author = {M Fennema and E M Heemskerk},
url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/glob.12178/full},
doi = {10.1111/glob.12178},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Global Networks},
volume = {18},
number = {1},
pages = {81-104},
abstract = {In this article, we study the emergence of computer aided network analysis as an example of ‘Mertonian’ multiple discovery. Computer assisted quantitative network analysis emerged around 1970 and small groups of researchers in different universities, who were independent of each other and looking for the right concepts and computer programs to implement graph theory in social analysis, first applied it to corporate interlock networks. We show how mathematical graph theory provided a toolbox for systematic network analysis and that simultaneously in the Netherlands and the United States this toolbox found an application in the study of corporate power. A historical narrative covers the three main centres in which large-scale corporate network analysis emerged – Amsterdam, California and Stony Brook. For each centre, we provide a sketch of the people involved, the tools they used, and the motivations that brought them to this topic. Our analysis makes clear that one cannot understand the emergence of computer aided network analysis without considering the personal and often political motivations of those who engaged in the first board interlock studies. Insurgent students of political science and sociology pushed for a research agenda on corporate power and found support from scholars who were keen to develop innovative network analysis methods. Hence, corporate network analysis became a legitimate field of research.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this article, we study the emergence of computer aided network analysis as an example of ‘Mertonian’ multiple discovery. Computer assisted quantitative network analysis emerged around 1970 and small groups of researchers in different universities, who were independent of each other and looking for the right concepts and computer programs to implement graph theory in social analysis, first applied it to corporate interlock networks. We show how mathematical graph theory provided a toolbox for systematic network analysis and that simultaneously in the Netherlands and the United States this toolbox found an application in the study of corporate power. A historical narrative covers the three main centres in which large-scale corporate network analysis emerged – Amsterdam, California and Stony Brook. For each centre, we provide a sketch of the people involved, the tools they used, and the motivations that brought them to this topic. Our analysis makes clear that one cannot understand the emergence of computer aided network analysis without considering the personal and often political motivations of those who engaged in the first board interlock studies. Insurgent students of political science and sociology pushed for a research agenda on corporate power and found support from scholars who were keen to develop innovative network analysis methods. Hence, corporate network analysis became a legitimate field of research. |
2017
|
Huijzer, M J Wie vormen de (bedrijfs)elite? Online StukRoodVlees 2017. @online{joukestukrood,
title = {Wie vormen de (bedrijfs)elite?},
author = {M J Huijzer},
url = {http://stukroodvlees.nl/wie-vormen-de-bedrijfselite/},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-12-18},
organization = {StukRoodVlees},
abstract = {Zaterdag publiceerde de Volkskrant voor de 12e keer de top 200 van meest invloedrijke personen in Nederland. De lijst, dit jaar opnieuw aangevoerd door Hans Wijers, voormalig minister van Economische zaken en commissaris bij verschillende Nederlandse multinationals, is meer dan een rangschikking van individuen. Het is volgens de Volkskrant ook een poging om de “gevestigde orde”, de “bestuurselite” of de “schaduwmacht van de notabelen” in kaart te brengen, met de regering “als het centrum van de macht”. Uit een database van meer dan 23.000 personen die actief zijn in grote bedrijven en bij belangrijke organisaties, wordt de lijst aan de hand van een netwerkanalyse van dubbelposities samengesteld. Vervolgens wegen de journalisten sommige organisaties en personen nog een stukje zwaarder waardoor sommige personen iets hoger en andere personen iets lager op de lijst komen.
Bij het samenstellen van de lijst worden een aantal beproefde en valide netwerkanalysemethodes gebruikt om de macht en invloed van de individuen te bepalen. Toch geeft de lijst op zijn slechtst een vertekend, en op zijn best een onvolledig beeld van de werkelijke bestuurselite in Nederland. Ten eerste omdat bij de lijst het primaat bij de politiek ligt en ten tweede omdat het onwaarschijnlijk is dat het establishment elk jaar precies even groot is. Waarom bestaat de lijst elk jaar uit 200 personen? Waarom bestaat de lijst niet uit meer of uit minder mensen en hoe bakenen we de elite op een juiste manier af?},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
Zaterdag publiceerde de Volkskrant voor de 12e keer de top 200 van meest invloedrijke personen in Nederland. De lijst, dit jaar opnieuw aangevoerd door Hans Wijers, voormalig minister van Economische zaken en commissaris bij verschillende Nederlandse multinationals, is meer dan een rangschikking van individuen. Het is volgens de Volkskrant ook een poging om de “gevestigde orde”, de “bestuurselite” of de “schaduwmacht van de notabelen” in kaart te brengen, met de regering “als het centrum van de macht”. Uit een database van meer dan 23.000 personen die actief zijn in grote bedrijven en bij belangrijke organisaties, wordt de lijst aan de hand van een netwerkanalyse van dubbelposities samengesteld. Vervolgens wegen de journalisten sommige organisaties en personen nog een stukje zwaarder waardoor sommige personen iets hoger en andere personen iets lager op de lijst komen.
Bij het samenstellen van de lijst worden een aantal beproefde en valide netwerkanalysemethodes gebruikt om de macht en invloed van de individuen te bepalen. Toch geeft de lijst op zijn slechtst een vertekend, en op zijn best een onvolledig beeld van de werkelijke bestuurselite in Nederland. Ten eerste omdat bij de lijst het primaat bij de politiek ligt en ten tweede omdat het onwaarschijnlijk is dat het establishment elk jaar precies even groot is. Waarom bestaat de lijst elk jaar uit 200 personen? Waarom bestaat de lijst niet uit meer of uit minder mensen en hoe bakenen we de elite op een juiste manier af? |
Garcia-Bernardo, J; Fichtner, J; Takes, F W; Heemskerk, E M Sinks and Conduits: Identifying Offshore Financial Centers by using Big Data Journal Article In: IFC Review, vol. Economic Report, no. Winter 2017/ 18, pp. 61-63, 2017. @article{sectorresearch,
title = {Sinks and Conduits: Identifying Offshore Financial Centers by using Big Data},
author = {J Garcia-Bernardo and J Fichtner and F W Takes and E M Heemskerk},
url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/wp-content/uploads/IFC-Economic-Report.pdf},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-11-30},
journal = {IFC Review},
volume = {Economic Report},
number = {Winter 2017/ 18},
pages = {61-63},
abstract = {Th is article is based on J. Garcia-Bernardo, J. Fichtner, F.W. Takes and E.M. Heemskerk, ‘Uncovering Off shore Financial Centers: Conduits and Sinks in the Global Corporate Ownership Network’, Scientifi c Reports 7, article 6246, 2017. Th e research illustrates that ‘off shore’ jurisdictions are much more complex than the traditional notion of an island state secreting away cash. Th e University of Amsterdam researchers found that the off shore industry is in fact a complex network of fi nancial conduits, which involve many of the traditional ‘onshore’ centres. },
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Th is article is based on J. Garcia-Bernardo, J. Fichtner, F.W. Takes and E.M. Heemskerk, ‘Uncovering Off shore Financial Centers: Conduits and Sinks in the Global Corporate Ownership Network’, Scientifi c Reports 7, article 6246, 2017. Th e research illustrates that ‘off shore’ jurisdictions are much more complex than the traditional notion of an island state secreting away cash. Th e University of Amsterdam researchers found that the off shore industry is in fact a complex network of fi nancial conduits, which involve many of the traditional ‘onshore’ centres. |
Takes, F W; Kosters, W A; Witte, B Detecting Motifs in Multiplex Corporate Networks, in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Complex Networks Book Chapter In: Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol. 689, pp. 502-515, Springer, 2017. @inbook{Detecting,
title = {Detecting Motifs in Multiplex Corporate Networks, in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Complex Networks},
author = {F W Takes and W A Kosters and B Witte},
url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-72150-7_41},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-11-27},
booktitle = {Studies in Computational Intelligence},
journal = {Studies in Computational Intelligence},
volume = {689},
pages = {502-515},
publisher = {Springer},
series = {Studies in Computational Intelligence},
abstract = {The main topic of this paper is the discovery of motifs in multiplex corporate networks. Network motifs are small subgraphs occurring at significantly higher numbers than in similar random networks. They can be seen as the building blocks of a complex network. In real-world network data, multiple types of (possibly overlapping) relationships may be present among the nodes, forming so-called multiplex networks. Detecting motifs in such networks is difficult, as existing subgraph enumeration algorithms are not directly applicable to multiplex network data. In addition, the selection of a proper multiplex null model to test the significance of the enumerated subgraphs is nontrivial. This paper addresses these two problems, resulting in three contributions. First, we present a method based on layer encoding for adequately handling the multiplex aspect in subgraph enumeration. Second, a null model is proposed that is able to preserve the relationship between the different types of links, taking into account that a particular link type may be the result of a projection from a bipartite network. Finally, we perform experiments on corporate network data from Germany, in which around 75 000 nodes represent corporations and roughly 195 000 links represent connectedness of firms based on shared board members and ownership. We demonstrate how incorporating the multiplex aspect in motif detection is able to reveal new insights that could not be obtained by studying only one type of relationship. Furthermore, results uncover how the financial sector is over-represented in the more complex motifs, hinting at a surprisingly prominent role of the financial sector in the largely industry-oriented corporate network of Germany.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
The main topic of this paper is the discovery of motifs in multiplex corporate networks. Network motifs are small subgraphs occurring at significantly higher numbers than in similar random networks. They can be seen as the building blocks of a complex network. In real-world network data, multiple types of (possibly overlapping) relationships may be present among the nodes, forming so-called multiplex networks. Detecting motifs in such networks is difficult, as existing subgraph enumeration algorithms are not directly applicable to multiplex network data. In addition, the selection of a proper multiplex null model to test the significance of the enumerated subgraphs is nontrivial. This paper addresses these two problems, resulting in three contributions. First, we present a method based on layer encoding for adequately handling the multiplex aspect in subgraph enumeration. Second, a null model is proposed that is able to preserve the relationship between the different types of links, taking into account that a particular link type may be the result of a projection from a bipartite network. Finally, we perform experiments on corporate network data from Germany, in which around 75 000 nodes represent corporations and roughly 195 000 links represent connectedness of firms based on shared board members and ownership. We demonstrate how incorporating the multiplex aspect in motif detection is able to reveal new insights that could not be obtained by studying only one type of relationship. Furthermore, results uncover how the financial sector is over-represented in the more complex motifs, hinting at a surprisingly prominent role of the financial sector in the largely industry-oriented corporate network of Germany. |
Babic, M; Fichtner, J; Heemskerk, E M States versus Corporations: Rethinking the Power of Business in International Politics Journal Article In: The International Spectator: Italian Journal of International Affairs, 2017. @article{States,
title = {States versus Corporations: Rethinking the Power of Business in International Politics},
author = {M Babic and J Fichtner and E M Heemskerk },
url = {http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03932729.2017.1389151},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-11-16},
journal = {The International Spectator: Italian Journal of International Affairs},
abstract = {Over 25 years ago, Susan Strange urged IR scholars to include multinational corporations in their analysis. Within IR and IPE discussions, this was either mostly ignored or reflected in an empirically and methodologically unsatisfactory way. We reiterate Strange’s call by sketching a fine-grained theoretical and empirical approach that includes both states and corporations as juxtaposed actors that interact in transnational networks inherent to the contemporary international political economy. This realistic, juxtaposed, actor- and relations-centred perspective on state and corporate power in the global system is empirically illustrated by the example of the transnationalisation of state ownership.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Over 25 years ago, Susan Strange urged IR scholars to include multinational corporations in their analysis. Within IR and IPE discussions, this was either mostly ignored or reflected in an empirically and methodologically unsatisfactory way. We reiterate Strange’s call by sketching a fine-grained theoretical and empirical approach that includes both states and corporations as juxtaposed actors that interact in transnational networks inherent to the contemporary international political economy. This realistic, juxtaposed, actor- and relations-centred perspective on state and corporate power in the global system is empirically illustrated by the example of the transnationalisation of state ownership. |
Fichtner, J The Cayman conundrum: why is one tiny archipelago the largest financial centre in Latin America and the Caribbean? Online LSE Latin America and Carribean Centre 2017. @online{LSECayman,
title = {The Cayman conundrum: why is one tiny archipelago the largest financial centre in Latin America and the Caribbean?},
author = {J Fichtner},
url = {http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/latamcaribbean/2017/11/02/the-cayman-conundrum-why-is-one-tiny-archipelago-the-largest-financial-centre-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-11-02},
organization = {LSE Latin America and Carribean Centre},
abstract = {Analysing how millions of multinational corporations structure their global ownership chains reveals that Cayman acts as a ‘sink’ offshore financial centre where foreign capital accumulates and data trails often end, writes Jan Fichtner (University of Amsterdam).},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
Analysing how millions of multinational corporations structure their global ownership chains reveals that Cayman acts as a ‘sink’ offshore financial centre where foreign capital accumulates and data trails often end, writes Jan Fichtner (University of Amsterdam). |
Babic, M; Wilson, K Neymar and State Money: How Sovereign Investment enters Global Capitalism Online Medium.com 2017. @online{Neymar,
title = {Neymar and State Money: How Sovereign Investment enters Global Capitalism},
author = {M Babic and K Wilson},
url = {https://medium.com/@UvACORPNET/neymar-and-state-money-how-sovereign-investment-enters-global-capitalism-41e329c2d213},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-09-11},
organization = {Medium.com},
abstract = {This blog post discusses the activities, outreach and role of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) that recently drew global attention by enabling the most expensive football player transfer in history. Besides the 222 Mio. € investment in Brazilian superstar Neymar, the QIA is very active as an investment fund around the world. The interesting and hardly studied aspect about the QIA is its status as wholly state-owned entity participating in global capitalism. CORPNET is able to track these activities on a global scale by looking at fine-grained ownership data. This investigation of cross-border state ownership networks goes beyond Sovereign Wealth Funds and can be extended to any state-owned entity around the world.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {online}
}
This blog post discusses the activities, outreach and role of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) that recently drew global attention by enabling the most expensive football player transfer in history. Besides the 222 Mio. € investment in Brazilian superstar Neymar, the QIA is very active as an investment fund around the world. The interesting and hardly studied aspect about the QIA is its status as wholly state-owned entity participating in global capitalism. CORPNET is able to track these activities on a global scale by looking at fine-grained ownership data. This investigation of cross-border state ownership networks goes beyond Sovereign Wealth Funds and can be extended to any state-owned entity around the world. |