scholarly journals Walking the financialized city: confronting capitalist urbanization through mobile popular education

Author(s):  
Jonathan Silver ◽  
Desiree Fields ◽  
Rich Goulding ◽  
Isaac Rose ◽  
Siobhan Donnachie

Abstract How do communities understand the highly abstract process of housing financialization? In this paper we argue that walking tours offer the capacity to develop new forms of mobile, public education to learn about the capitalist urbanization process, especially as the financialization of housing accelerates. Based on walking the city of Manchester we show that this type of learning may improve public literacy concerning the opaque and extended ways in which housing in central areas has increasingly been shaped by new types of real estate finance. Although many people in Manchester have understood the outline of these dramatic transformations, and could connect the new skyscrapers to their struggles for everyday survival, there remained a gap in detailed literacy of the actors, finances and dynamics that had changed the city so quickly. We contextualize the rapidly changing global landscape of housing since the global financial crisis of 2008 before showing how these transformations have reshaped housing in Manchester. We then describe the motivations for developing the tour, and the details of the walk itself. We conclude by suggesting that the walking tour offers new types of possibility in necessary learning and subsequent action to address capitalist urbanization.


2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Wong Ping Eng ◽  
Janice YM Lee ◽  
Muhammad Najib Mohamed Razali ◽  
Mat Naim Abdullah @ Mohd Asmoni ◽  
Izran Sarrazin Mohammad

Real estate divestitures and acquisitions (D&A) are conducted as part of corporate restructuring. This study aims to fill the knowledge gap on abnormal stock market returns (AR) toward D&A activities during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in a developing country. Malaysian listed non-real estate companies that conducted D&A during the GFC are used as sample. Event study is applied to determine AR surrounding D&A announcements within (-10day, +10day) event window. Results for both D&A announcements shows insignificant AR on and around announcement date (-1 to +1). For pre-announcement, divesting (acquiring) companies obtain negative (positive) AR, signifying that the market does not favor (favor) divestitures (acquisitions) due to leakage of information. The outcome of post-announcement proves that divesting companies continue to experience negative ARs, although most divesting companies were paid premium prices. However, acquiring companies experience significant and negative post-announcement AR. This is probably due to the price premium which most acquiring companies paid exceeding valuation for their acquisitions. In summary, the market disapproves divestitures in general and acquisitions of real estate assets exceeding their valuations during economic recessions.  



2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Eddison T. Walters

Based on the findings of the current study, policymakers must take a hard look at the media and themselves, because the world can no longer blame the subprime mortgage industry for causing the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008. The public must demand answers from the media and policymakers explaining how an economic crisis that could have been avoided resulted in the collapse of the global economy. The lack of evidence supporting the theory of a financial bubble and a real estate bubble called for further investigation of factors leading to the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008. Evidence presented from data analysis in Walters (2018) suggested no financial bubble existed in developed or developing countries around the world, preceding the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008. Based on data analysis in Walters (2018) the evidence also suggested, the lasting effect of economic policies in response to the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008 for both developed and developing countries around the world, had no significant impact on the financial sector but pointed to a lack of economic growth. The findings raised significant questions about the existence of a real estate bubble in both developed and developing countries. Evidence from data analysis presented in Walters and Djokic (2019) suggested the existence of a real estate bubble in the United States real estate market preceding the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008 was a false conclusion. Data analysis in Walters (2019) resulted in, 0.989 Adjusted R-square, 194.041 Mean Dependent Variable, 5.908 Square Error of Regression, 488.726 Sum-of- Square Residual, and 0.00000 Probability (F-statistic), for correlation between the independent variable representing advancement in technology, and the dependent variable representing home purchase price in the United States preceding the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008. The findings in Walters (2019) concluded the rapid increase in home purchase price in the United States real estate market, was due to increased demand for homes from the adaptation of advancement in technology in the real estate and mortgage industries. The current study expanded the investigation of the growth in home purchase price to fifteen developed countries around the world, building on the findings of previous research by the current researcher. The researcher in the current study concluded, the existence of significant and near-perfect correlation in many cases, between the dependent variable representing growth in home purchase price, and the independent variable representing advancement in technology. The analysis was based on data analyzed from fifteen developed countries around the world, which was collected between 1990 and 2006. The data analysis included home purchase price data from, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, Ireland, Belgium, Norway, Spain, and Portugal. Data preceding the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008 were analyzed in the current study. The researcher in the current study concluded the existence of overwhelming evidence suggesting advancement in technology was responsible for the rapid increase in home prices in developed countries around the world preceding the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008. The result of data analysis in the current study provided further confirmation of the accuracy of former Federal Reserve Board Chairmen, Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke 2005 assessment which concluded, the occurrence of a real estate bubble developing was impossible due to the Efficient Market Hypothesis, before reversing course subsequent their assertion in 2005 (Belke & Wiedmann, 2005; Starr,2012). The result of the current study provided additional evidence supporting Eddison Walters Risk Expectation Theory of The Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008. The result from data analysis also confirmed the need for the adaptation of Eddison Walters Modern Economic Analysis Theory. As a result of the findings in the current study, the researcher concluded the development of a real estate bubble is impossible where there exists real estate price transparency, as is the case in most developed and developing countries. The researcher presented Walters Real Estate Bubble Impossibility Price Transparency Theory based on the findings. False information of a real estate bubble and predictions of a real estate crash disseminated through the mainstream media and social media can be a destructive force with a disastrous effect on the economy around the world. The failure by the media to hold themselves and policymakers to a higher standard resulted in the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008. The result of the failure by the media was a worldwide economic crisis and the Great Recession that followed the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008. Lessons learned from the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008 can assist in preventing another economic crisis in the future.



2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Walks

This article seeks to critically examine public policy response to the global financial crisis in the core of the developed world, and to understand the likely implications of this set of policy responses for the future trajectory of urban social crises. Instead of dealing with the internal contradictions of the financial-economic system that characterizes recent capitalism, and that produced the global financial crisis, the governments of the wealthiest countries are actively attempting to ‘solve’ the problem by re-installing a form of capitalism that I refer to as ‘ponzi neoliberalism’. The increasing dominance of ponzi dynamics in this system means it is inherently contradictory, inequitable, wealth-destroying in the aggregate, and unsustainable – I stress in particular the implications for the future form and trajectory of urban social inequality. In this article, I trace the roots of the global financial crisis and outline the parameters of ponzi neoliberalism. I then discuss how nation states are using public policy to resuscitate this system, and in doing so, are reproducing highly contradictory and unsustainable, but self-reinforcing, dynamics (doom-looping) that imperil future social and economic sustainability. I then consider the impact on the geography of the city, and argue that this strategy risks deepening urban social crisis. The longer that ponzi neoliberalism is allowed to continue, the deeper and more problematic will be the crisis, and the more limited will be the state capacity to respond to its contradictions.



Author(s):  
Jordan Cally

This chapter focuses on the regulation of international markets in the United Kingdom. Providing investor protection in the United Kingdom has been a fraught and difficult process. Even well into the 1980s, one very popular view in the City of London, openly espoused, was that it was not the role of government, nor was it necessarily either possible or desirable, to ‘protect fools from their own folly’. Rather, the gentlemen of the City, historical evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, insisted that their ‘impeccable’ behaviour provided all the protections necessary. Less than a decade ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified ‘uncertainty risk’ as the major threat to the City of London. At the time, massive regulatory change in the United Kingdom and a tidal wave of EU regulation in response to the global financial crisis were the immediate concerns. Despite the sea changes in the nature of markets and regulatory upheaval in the United Kingdom, the City sailed on. In hindsight, the uncertainty risks associated with the global financial crisis and the EU's regulatory agenda pale in comparison to those posed by Brexit.



2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Morri ◽  
Andrea Artegiani

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether the financial crisis has affected the capital structure of real estate companies in Europe and whether these impacts can be studied utilizing the variables traditionally used by the trade-off and pecking-order theories to explain the capital structure of companies. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a fixed-effect panel regression analysis and a sample composed of companies included in the EPRA/NAREIT Europe Index. The effect of the financial crisis has been accounted for within the model by means of a dummy variable. Findings – The global financial crisis did have an impact on the capital structure of companies and the main variables traditionally used by the trade-off and pecking order theories proved to be suitable in explaining the capital structure of real estate companies. Real estate investment trusts are, on average, more leveraged than traditional real estate companies due to their special regulatory status. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to the European market and UK companies in particular account for a large part of the sample. In addition, major regulatory differences between the various European countries are not taken into account in the model. Originality/value – Similar studies have been performed for the US and Australian market. However, the impact of the global financial crisis has not been traditionally considered in these studies.



2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-79
Author(s):  
Gianluca Mattarocci ◽  
Georgios Siligardos

Purpose – The overall performance of real estate funds can be ascribed to capital appreciation and/or income return. The Italian property funds market has grown significantly over the past few years; however, little is known about the key drivers of property fund performance. The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of two sources of funds’ performance and identify their relevance during the financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers the Italian market in the last decade and analyses the annual reports of public real estate funds, separating appraisal returns from income returns. By considering a wide time horizon, it evaluates if the roles of income returns and capital gains with respect to overall performance are more or less influenced by fund characteristics, such as asset diversification, concentration, and leverage. Findings – The contribution of income return and capital growth are not strictly related to the overall performance of Italian real estate funds, with a significantly lower correlation during the global financial crisis. Furthermore, the main drivers of the two income sources are not strictly comparable. Originality/value – The paper presents the first analysis on the source of income return for the Italian real estate funds and it represents one of the few studies that considers the effect of the financial crisis on European indirect real estate investments, capital appreciation and income return.



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