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- Analyse and understand processes of financialisation, the causes and consequences of financial crisis and developing policy ideas and agendas which would change the role of the financial system to better serve economic, social and environmental objectives (WP2 and WP3).
- Develop new and more effective approaches to financial regulation applicable to specific national financial systems and to assess the possibility of international cooperation in introduction of these principles. (WP4)
- Rules and regulations governing financial markets at the national and European level and the impact of bi-lateral over the counter transactions that do not take place in formal regulated or informal markets. Exploring the consequences of the absence of an EU regulatory authority and the implications of other aspects of the establishment of the Single Market for the regulatory process.(WP4)
- Synthesise the nature of the relationships between financialisation and social well-being, and draw lessons for the future as to whether there are any identifiably superior types of systems of finance (or elements thereof) in respect to social-wellbeing and social cohesion. (WP5)
- Examine the effectiveness of current policy instruments (such as fiscal and monetary policy) and developing new policy instruments to secure global and intra – EU financial and economic stability and growth. Policy coordination will have to take into account the role that is now being played by China, as the new lender of last resort to governments in Europe and North America, and the influence of China, Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey as key growth poles in their own region as well as at the global level. Policy coordination through the International Monetary Fund and the G20 also has important monetary and financial implications for smaller countries that have the least voice in the management of the international monetary system. New institutional mechanisms for international co-operation and potentially new mandates for the EU and multilateral institutions may be needed to provide more effective financial support for development policy. (WP6)
- Explore relations between finance and the environment broadly conceived to include built environment and the production of nature as well as natural resources and to investigate how the financial system may promote sustainable development. Assess the financial instruments and policies in pursuit of sustainability in the field of climate change particularly in light of changing scenarios following the financial crisis.(WP7)
- Identify and analyse the role and impacts of finance on the achievement of the key goal of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with attention to the firm and industrial re-structuring
- (including outsourcing, downsizing and off-shoring) driven by the processes of financialisation and the impacts on key stakeholders such as workers, consumers, and local communities. (WP8)
- Investigate the structural linkages between financialisation and the real economy with specific reference to two key sectors: housing and water. Both of these sectors have witnessed considerable transformation over recent years with a growing focus on marketisation but they share a strong social element with the state responsible for some level of provision because of their essential nature. The objective of the research is to determine the way financialisation affects the systems of provision for their delivery of housing and water and the consequent outcomes for equity. (WP8)
- Assess the fiscal and monetary policy responses in the period of the financial crisis and afterwards, in terms of their effectiveness in addressing the macroeconomic and financial sector problems. The appropriate policy objectives for monetary policy following the experience of the financial crisis, e.g. financial stability, will be considered and how they would relate to the operations of the European Central Bank. The policy alternatives for divergence and disparities between the member countries of the Economic Monetary Union (EMU) are also to be developed. These will involve addressing the resolution of current account imbalances, and differential inflation rates between member countries. (WP9)
