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This article employs a panel data econometric approach in order to empirically ascertain the role of the phenomenon of financialization in the deceleration of labor productivity in the European Union countries from 1980 to 2019. During that time, the European Union countries suffered a huge structural transformation based on Reaganomics and Thatcherism and their financial systems have experienced strong liberalization and deregulation, which have contributed to poor evolution of labor productivity and have revived fears around a new "secular stagnation" in the era of financialization. Grounded in post-Keynesian literature, the slowdown of labor productivity in the majority of developed economies in the last decades cannot be separated from the phenomenon of financialization, which has occurred through four different channels, namely, weak economic performance, the decline in the labor income share, the increase in personal income inequality, and the strengthening of the degree of financialization and its corresponding harmful effects on innovation, research and development, technological progress, and productive investments performed by nonfinancial corporations. Our findings confirm that lagged labor productivity, economic performance, and labor income share have a positive impact on labor productivity in the European Union countries, while personal income inequality and the degree of financialization impact it negatively. Our findings also reveal that labor productivity in the European Union countries in the last decades would have grown more if there had been a stronger economic performance, a smaller decline (or even a rise) of the labor income share, a smaller increase (or even a decrease) of personal income inequality, and a weakening of the degree of financialization. JEL Classification: C23, E12, E24, and E44

This paper employs a panel data econometric approach in order to empirically ascertain the role of the phenomenon of financialisation in the deceleration of labour productivity in the European Union (EU) countries from 1980 to 2019. During that time, the EU countries suffered a huge structural transformation based on Reaganomics and Thatcherism and their financial systems have experienced strong liberalisation and deregulation, which have contributed to poor evolution of labour productivity and have revived fears around a new 'secular stagnation' in the era of financialisation. Grounded in post-Keynesian literature, the slowdown of labour productivity in the majority of developed economies in the last decades cannot be separated from the phenomenon of financialisation, which has occurred through four different channels, namely the weak economic performance, the decline in the labour income share, the increase in personal income inequality, and strengthening of the degree of financialisation. Our findings confirm that lagged labour productivity, economic performance, and labour income share have a positive impact on labour productivity in the EU countries, while personal income inequality and the degree of financialisation impact it negatively. Our findings also reveal that labour productivity in the EU countries in the last decades would have grown more if there had been a stronger economic performance, a smaller decline (or even a rise) of the labour income share, a smaller increase (or even a decrease) of personal income inequality, and a weakening of the degree of financialisation.

This paper draws an empirical reassessment of the finance-growth nexus by performing a panel data econometric analysis for all 28 European Union countries over 27 years from 1990 to 2016. Since the mid-1980s, the financial system has experienced a strong liberalisation and deregulation by preventing its beneficial effects on the real economy. This phenomenon, typically called financialisation, points to a negative view of finance and contradicts the well-entrenched hypothesis on the finance-growth nexus. We estimate both linear and non-linear growth models by incorporating seven proxies of finance (money supply, domestic credit, financial value added, short-term interest rate, long-term interest rate, stock market volume traded and stock market capitalisation) and five control variables (the lagged growth rate of the real per capita gross domestic product, the inflation rate, the general government consumption, the degree of trade openness and the education level of the population). Our results show that finance has impaired economic growth in the EU countries, both in the precrisis period and in the crisis and post-crisis periods. The enormous growth of domestic credit and of the financial value added have been restraining the economic growth of the EU countries since 1990 and particularly up until the Great Recession. This implies the need to reduce the prominence of finance, i.e. socalled definancialisation, in the coming years in order to avoid the potential new ?secular stagnation? in the current age of financialisation.

This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the relationship between financialization and neoliberalism and the labor share using panel data composed of twenty-seven European Union countries over nineteen years (from 1995 to 2013). Adopting a Kaleckian perspective, framed in the post-Keynesian literature, financialization and neoliberalism exert a negative influence on the labor share through three different channels: the change in the sectorial composition of economies (the increasing importance of financial activity and the decreasing importance of general government activity), the proliferation of shareholder value orientation, and the deterioration of general workers' bargaining power. We estimate a labor share equation with the traditional variables (lagged labor share, technological progress, globalization, education, and output growth) and four further measures of financialization and neoliberalism (financial activity, general government activity, shareholder value orientation, and the trade union density rate). The findings show a disruptive relationship between financialization and neoliberalism and the labor share in European Union countries, mainly through the channels of general government activity and shareholder value orientation. It is also found that financialization and neoliberalism have contributed to a fall in the labor share in European Union countries. The technological progress was the main driver of the fall in the labor share in European Union countries, while the output growth was the main supporter. This suggests that the trend of decline in the labor share could intensify in the future taking into account the fears of potential secular stagnation in the current era of financialization and neoliberalism. JEL Classification: C23, D33, E25, E44

Working papers com arbitragem científica ; The purpose of this paper is the conduction of a time series econometric analysis in order to examine empirically the relationship between the financial system and economic growth in Portugal from 1977 to 2016. The Portuguese financial system has experienced a strong wave of privatisations, liberalisations and deregulations since the adhesion of Portugal to the European Economic Community in 1986, which has not favoured a sustained path of strong economic growth since then. The growth of the financial system played even a crucial role in the recent sovereign debt crisis in Portugal, casting doubts on the conventional hypothesis on the finance- growth nexus. The paper estimates a linear growth model and a non-linear growth model, which includes four proxies for the financial system (money supply, credit, financial value added and stock market capitalisation) and four further control variables (inflation, government consumption, trade openness and education). The paper finds a negative linear relationship between the banking system and Portuguese economic growth, a positive linear relationship between the stock markets and Portuguese economic growth, a concave quadratic relationship between the banking system and Portuguese economic growth, and a convex quadratic relationship between the stock markets and Portuguese economic growth. This suggests that Portuguese policy makers should canalise efforts to decrease the importance of banking system and to increase the importance of stock markets in order to support more robust economic growth in the coming years. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This paper draws an empirical reassessment of the finance-growth nexus by performing a panel data econometric analysis for all 28 European Union countries over 27 years from 1990 to 2016. Since the mid-1980s, the financial system has experienced a strong liberalisation and deregulation by preventing its beneficial effects on the real economy. This phenomenon, typically called financialisation, points to a negative view of finance and contradicts the well-entrenched hypothesis on the finance-growth nexus. We estimate both linear and non-linear growth models by incorporating seven proxies of finance (money supply, domestic credit, financial value added, short-term interest rate, long-term interest rate, stock market volume traded and stock market capitalisation) and five control variables (the lagged growth rate of the real per capita gross domestic product, the inflation rate, the general government consumption, the degree of trade openness and the education level of the population). Our results show that finance has impaired economic growth in the EU countries, both in the pre-crisis period and in the crisis and post-crisis periods. The enormous growth of domestic credit and of the financial value added have been restraining the economic growth of the EU countries since 1990 and particularly up until the Great Recession. This implies the need to reduce the prominence of finance, i.e. so-called de-financialisation, in the coming years in order to avoid the potential new 'secular stagnation' in the current age of financialisation. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

JEL Classification: C23, D10, E21, E44 ; This paper provides an empirical assessment of the effects of financialisation on private consumption using panel data for all 28 European Union countries from 1995 to 2015. According to the post Keynesian literature, financialisation exerts two contradictory effects on private consumption, notably a negative one linked to the fall of households' labour income and a positive one related to the increase of households' (financial and housing) wealth. A private consumption equation was estimated by including three variables linked to financialisation (labour income, financial wealth and housing wealth) and five additional control variables (lagged private consumption, short-term interest rate, long-term interest rate, inflation rate and unemployment rate). Our results confirm that financialisation has been detrimental to private consumption in the EU countries as a whole, and more specifically in the Euro area countries, as the beneficial wealth effect has not been sufficient to compensate for the prejudicial income effect. The fall of households' labour income has even been the highest constraint on private consumption in the Euro area countries.

DINÂMIA'CET-WP - Working papers com arbitragem científica ; This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the relationship between financialisation and the labour share using panel data composed of 27 European Union countries over 19 years (from 1995 to 2013). Adopting a Kaleckian perspective, framed in the post-Keynesian literature, financialisation exerts a negative influence on the labour share through three different channels: the change in the sectorial composition of economies (the increasing importance of financial activity and the decreasing importance of general government activity), the proliferation of 'shareholder value orientation' and the deterioration of general workers' bargaining power. We estimate a labour share equation with the traditional variables (lagged labour share, technological progress, globalisation, education and output growth) and four further measures of financialisation (financial activity, general government activity, 'shareholder value orientation' and the trade union density rate). The findings show a disruptive relationship between financialisation and the labour share in European Union countries, mainly through the channels of general government activity and 'shareholder value orientation'. It is also found that financialisation has contributed to a fall in the labour share in European Union countries as a whole and more specifically in non-euro area countries, 'bank-based' countries and 'coordinated market' countries. The slowdown of output was the main driver of the fall in the labour share in European Union countries, a trend that could persist in the future taking into account the fears of potential 'secular stagnation' in the current era of financialisation. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

DINÂMIA'CET-WP - Working papers com arbitragem científica ; This paper provides an empirical assessment of the effects of financialisation on private consumption using panel data for all 28 European Union countries from 1995 to 2015. According to the post Keynesian literature, financialisation exerts two contradictory effects on private consumption, notably a negative one linked to the fall of households' labour income and a positive one related to the increase of households' (financial and housing) wealth. A private consumption equation was estimated by including three variables linked to financialisation (labour income, financial wealth and housing wealth) and five additional control variables (lagged private consumption, short-term interest rate, long-term interest rate, inflation rate and unemployment rate). Our results confirm that financialisation has been detrimental to private consumption in the EU countries as a whole, and more specifically in the Euro area countries, as the beneficial wealth effect has not been sufficient to compensate for the prejudicial income effect. The fall of households' labour income has even been the highest constraint on private consumption in the Euro area countries ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Working papers com arbitragem científica ; This paper makes an empirical assessment of the relationship between financialisation and real investment by non-financial corporations using panel data composed of 27 European Union countries over 19 years (from 1995 to 2013). On one hand, financialisation leads to a rise in financial investments, deviating funds from real investments ("crowding out" effect). On the other, pressures from shareholders to intensify financial payments restrict the funds available for new real investments. We estimate an aggregate investment equation with the traditional variables (profitability, debt, cost of capital, savings rate and output growth) and two further measures of financialisation (financial receipts and financial payments). Findings show that financialisation has damaged real investment in European Union countries, mainly through the channel of financial payments either in interest or dividend payments. It is also found that the prejudicial effects of financialisation in investment are more marked in more financialised countries. In addition, it is concluded that debt has a harmful effect on real investment as the increasing levels of non-financial corporations' indebtedness prevent the use of new debts to finance real investments. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

A Thesis presented in partial fulfilments of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor in Economics / JEL Classification: E12 and E4 ; Esta tese de Doutoramento procura avaliar o processo de financeirização em Portugal desde os anos oitenta e uma dimensão particular do mesmo processo nos países da União Europeia desde meados da década de noventa, através da compilação de quatro Ensaios inter-relacionados. O conceito amplo e complexo de financeirização tende a oferecer uma perspectiva negativa sobre o impacto do crescimento da finança na economia, ao contrário da teoria económica convencional que considera o crescimento da finança como um fenómeno geralmente positivo. Neste sentido, a emergência da financeirização em Portugal é contextualizada segundo uma perspectiva histórica, económica e internacional no primeiro Ensaio. Baseado na análise de vários indicadores, este Ensaio conclui que a economia portuguesa exibe sintomas de financeiração que colocaram em evidência fraquezas estruturais desta economia, desempenhando portanto um papel importante na recente crise da dívida soberana. O segundo Ensaio procura analisar empiricamente a relação entre a financeirização e o investimento real português através de uma análise econométrica de séries temporais. A financeirização, por um lado, conduz a um aumento dos investimentos financeiros por parte das empresas não financeiras, o que desvia fundos dos investimentos reais (efeito "crowding out"). Por outro lado, as pressões em torno da intensificação dos pagamentos financeiros restringem igualmente os fundos disponíveis para a materialização de investimentos reais. Este Ensaio conclui que o processo de financeirização tem contribuído para uma desaceleração do investimento real português, principalmente através do canal dos pagamentos financeiros. A análise empírica do segundo Ensaio é estendida para os países da União Europeia no terceiro Ensaio usando uma análise econométrica em dados de painel. Este Ensaio conclui que o processo de financeirização tem penalizado o ...

Artigo em revista científica internacional com arbitragem científica ; This paper empirically applies the New Keynesian Model to the euro area's e conomy during the period from the first quarter of 1999 to the last quarter of 2008, which is consistent with the scant empirical evidence on this Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model. The New Keynesian Model is estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments, since the model denote hybrid features including backward and forward looking behaviours by economic agents and elements with rational expectations. Although this method of estimation may present some limitations, the New Keynesian Model seems to describe reasonably well the evolution of economic activity, the inflation rate and monetary policy in the euro area. Against this backdrop, the New Keynesian Model may provide an important tool for aiding the governments of euro area countries and the European Central Bank in the adoption and implementation of its policies over time. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Working papers com arbitragem científica ; This paper empirically applies the New Keynesian Model to the euro area's economy during the period from the first quarter of 1999 to the last quarter of 2008, which is consistent with the scant empirical evidence on this Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model. Specifically, we proceed with an econometric estimation of the IS Curve, the Phillips Curve and the Taylor Rule to assess the ability of these three equations to describe the dynamics of aggregate demand and the inflation rate in the euro area, as well as monetary policy steering by the European Central Bank during its first 10 years. The New Keynesian Model is estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments, since the three equations denote hybrid features including backward and forward looking behaviours by economic agents and elements with rational expectations. Although this method of estimation may present some limitations, the New Keynesian Model seems to describe reasonably well the evolution of economic activity, the inflation rate and monetary policy in the euro area. Against this backdrop, the New Keynesian Model may provide an important tool for aiding the governments of euro area countries and the European Central Bank in the adoption and implementation of its policies over time. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

JEL Classification: E12 and E44 ; This PhD thesis aims to assess the financialisation process in Portugal since the early 1980s and a particular dimension of the respective process in the European Union countries since the mid-1990s, through the compilation of four inter-related Essays. The broad and complex concept of financialisation tends to offer a negative perspective on the impact of growth of finance in the economy, contrary to the predictions of mainstream economics that considers the growth of finance as a general positive phenomenon. In that sense, the emergence of financialisation in Portugal is contextualised in an historical, economic and international perspective in the first Essay. Based on the analysis of several indicators, this Essay concludes that the Portuguese economy exhibits symptoms of financialisation that put in evidence its structural weaknesses and played an important role on the recent sovereign debt crisis. The second Essay aims to address empirically the relationship between financialisation and the Portuguese real investment through a time series econometric analysis. Financialisation, on the one hand, leads to a rise of financial investments by non-financial corporations, which deviates funds from real investments ("crowding out" effect). On the other hand, strong pressures around the intensification of financial payments restrain funds available for real investments. This Essay concludes that the financialisation process has hampered the Portuguese real investment, mainly through the channel linked with financial payments. The empirical analysis of the second Essay is extended to the European Union countries in the third Essay using a panel data econometric analysis. This Essay concludes that the financialisation process has also damaged real investment in European Union countries, mainly through the financial payments channel. The Essay is also able to identify that the financialisation process causes a higher slowdown in real investment in the more financialised countries, which represents an important conclusion for a less financialised economy like Portugal. The fourth Essay aims to assess empirically the relationship between financialisation and the Portuguese labour income share, conducting a time series econometric analysis. The financialisation process tends to increase the inequality on functional income distribution, visible in the growing importance of profit share in viidetriment of labour income share, which occurs through three channels: the change in the sectorial composition of the economy (due to the increase of the weight of financial activity and the decrease of government activity), the shareholder value philosophy and the weakening of trade unions. The Essay finds evidence that the financialisation process affected the evolution of the Portuguese labour income share, namely trough changes in government activity and in trade union density. Overall, this PhD thesis offers further evidence that the financialisation process also affects negatively and from different prisms the smaller, less developed and more peripheral economies, such as Portugal. ; Esta tese de Doutoramento procura avaliar o processo de financeirização em Portugal desde os anos oitenta e uma dimensão particular do mesmo processo nos países da União Europeia desde meados da década de noventa, através da compilação de quatro Ensaios inter-relacionados. O conceito amplo e complexo de financeirização tende a oferecer uma perspectiva negativa sobre o impacto do crescimento da finança na economia, ao contrário da teoria económica convencional que considera o crescimento da finança como um fenómeno geralmente positivo. Neste sentido, a emergência da financeirização em Portugal é contextualizada segundo uma perspectiva histórica, económica e internacional no primeiro Ensaio. Baseado na análise de vários indicadores, este Ensaio conclui que a economia portuguesa exibe sintomas de financeiração que colocaram em evidência fraquezas estruturais desta economia, desempenhando portanto um papel importante na recente crise da dívida soberana. O segundo Ensaio procura analisar empiricamente a relação entre a financeirização e o investimento real português através de uma análise econométrica de séries temporais. A financeirização, por um lado, conduz a um aumento dos investimentos financeiros por parte das empresas não financeiras, o que desvia fundos dos investimentos reais (efeito "crowding out"). Por outro lado, as pressões em torno da intensificação dos pagamentos financeiros restringem igualmente os fundos disponíveis para a materialização de investimentos reais. Este Ensaio conclui que o processo de financeirização tem contribuído para uma desaceleração do investimento real português, principalmente através do canal dos pagamentos financeiros. A análise empírica do segundo Ensaio é estendida para os países da União Europeia no terceiro Ensaio usando uma análise econométrica em dados de painel. Este Ensaio conclui que o processo de financeirização tem penalizado o investimento real nestes países, principalmente através dos pagamentos financeiros. Este Ensaio identifica ainda que o processo de financeirização causa um abrandamento mais acentuado do investimento real nos países mais financeirizados, o que acaba por se revelar uma conclusão importante para uma economia menos financeirizada como a portuguesa. O quarto Ensaio procura avaliar empiricamente a relação entre a financeirização e a parcela dos rendimentos do trabalho em Portugal, conduzindo uma análise veconométrica de séries temporais. O processo de financeirização tende a aumentar a desigualdade na distribuição funcional do rendimento, visível na crescente importância dos lucros em detrimento da parcela dos rendimentos do trabalho, o que ocorre através de três canais: a mudança na composição sectorial da economia (aumento do peso do sector financeiro e diminuição do peso do sector público), a filosofia subjacente à criação de valor para o acionista e o enfraquecimento dos sindicatos. O Ensaio conclui que o processo de financeirização tem sido responsável pela evolução da parcela dos rendimentos do trabalho, sobretudo por via do peso do sector público e dos sindicatos. De forma geral, esta tese de Doutoramento oferece evidência adicional que o processo de financeirização também afecta negativamente e sobre diferentes primas economias mais pequenas, menos desenvolvidas e mais periféricas, como Portugal.

ABSTRACT This paper makes an empirical evaluation of the relationship between financialisation and the Portuguese private consumption by performing a time series econometric analysis from the first quarter of 1996 to the third quarter of 2019. Framed within the post-Keynesian literature, financialisation has two contradictory effects on private consumption. The first one corresponds to the fall in the households' labour income, which favours a deceleration of private consumption. The second one corresponds to the increase of households' debt and the increase of households' financial and housing wealth, which favours an acceleration of private consumption. The global net effect of financialisation tends to be positive because the beneficial wealth effect suppresses the harmful income effect. We estimated a private consumption equation that includes four control variables (unemployment rate, inflation rate, short-term interest rate and long-term interest rate) and three variables linked to financialisation (labour income, net financial wealth and housing wealth). Our results confirm that labour income, net financial wealth and housing wealth are positive determinants of Portuguese private consumption. Our results also show that financialisation has represented an important driver of Portuguese private consumption, particularly due to the beneficial effects of net financial wealth.