Why shrinking and refocusing the financial sector is a precondition for the socio-ecological transformation

The disconnect between financial markets and the real economy is responsible for our societies’ vulnerability to crises. We want to address this discrepancy and prepare proposals on how to reign in the financial sector and enable companies to drive the social-ecological transformation. What are yield expectations in the financial sector vs. the real economy? How does this influence investment in the real economy? How can we tackle the trend of buybacks, high corporate debt (debt-taxation-bias) and short-term investment?

The disconnect started with the deregulation of financial markets in the 1980s and has been an ongoing process. While crucial to the transformation, it is not easily explained over a cup of coffee. Therefore, we will highlight the issue with different case studies that highlight why financial markets are standing in the way of the transformation and what we can do to change this.