New Economic Geographies

Money and Finance

Research has investigated the impact and intricacies of the new economy on the financial system in contemporary globalisation. The concept of ‘financial ecology’ was developed to help explain the relational nature of changes in financial markets, and elucidates the spatial manifestations of financial inclusion/exclusion in society, including the geographical roots of the category of ‘sub-prime’. Significant work in this area is focused on studies of the new economic geographies of financialization in society. Other substantive work has embedded the concept of ‘relationality’ in comparative transnational studies of international financial centres, informing H. M. Treasury on the competitiveness of the London’s financial district in Europe. Studies of the role of door-to-door money lenders and the shrinking geography of bank and building society branches in Britain has informed the work of the government’s Financial Inclusion Taskforce. Other research has investigated the role and function of financial centre through an investigation of corporate finance practices in the City of London and the life assurance industry in Bristol.

Recent new research projects are now investigating

• The 'buy-to-let' market in the UK housing sector
• The UK financial industry's private wealth management sector for high net worth individuals
• The wholesale-retail financial service interface in London's financial district