"Financialization is one of the most innovative concepts to emerge in the field
of political economy during the last three decades, although there is no agreeme
nt on what exactly it is. Profiting Without Producing puts forth a distinctive v
iew defining financialization in terms of the fundamental conduct of non-financi
al enterprises, banks and households. Its most prominent feature is the rise of
financial profit, in part extracted from households through financial expropriat
ion. Financialized capitalism is also prone to crises, none greater than the gig
antic turmoil that began in 2007. Using abundant empirical data, the book establ
ishes the causes of the crisis and discusses the options broadly available for c
ontrolling finance"
