Call for Papers: RGS-IBG Annual Conference 2014, London, 26 to 29 August 2014

 

International Financial Centres and Regional Development

 

Convenors: Sabine Dörry (University of Oxford) and Karen Lai (National University of Singapore)

 

Financial activities form a global economic network that is distinctive in terms of its operation and impact, particularly in terms of specific actors (associated with various banking and financial institutions as well as advanced business services) and territories (such as international financial centres and offshore jurisdictions). As specialised clusters of capital, knowledge and labour, international financial centres (IFCs) play crucial roles in the modern system of global finance and are also seen as strategic sectors in shaping local and regional growth trajectories. Over time, there has been increased competition amongst IFCs and offshoring of business activities amongst financial institutions and finance-related advanced business services (ABS) firms. Competition amongst IFCs takes place not only at the local level of financial products/services and process optimisation, but also in terms of national regulation and governance, which are embedded in complex, multi-layered networks. Financial institutions and actors are strongly affected by regional forces such as EU juridical harmonisation or Asian economic growth dynamics. Local and national governments have also made use of the finance industry as a strategic sector in shaping economic trajectories and urban development.

 

The objective of this session is to shed light on the changing spatial structures of the global financial system and finance industry, particularly in terms of the territorialities of IFCs and offshore centres. This includes the regulation and governance of global finance, the dynamic relationships between finance capital and nation-states, and how social and cultural constructions of people and places are mobilised in the development of IFCs. By focusing on the territorial impacts of financial centre development, we seek to connect the global production system of high finance with more localised financial systems and actors. We welcome conceptual as well as empirical papers that explore (but are not limited to) the following issues:

• regulation and governance of IFCs;
• the role of offshore financial centres and financial engineering on new territorialities of finance;
• ABS firms and IFC development;
• the impact of particular financial markets on IFC development;
• IFC networks: competition and inter-city relations;
• connecting the ‘local’ (IFCs) with the ‘global’ (global financial system);
• measuring value creation, enhancement, capture and transfer in and between IFCs;
• studying key actors and elite groups in IFCs as drivers of the global financial system;
• impact of the recent global financial crisis on IFC development;
• trajectories of specific IFCs and their implications for urban/regional development. 

Please send abstracts (max 250 words) and contact details to Sabine Dörry ([log in to unmask]) and Karen Lai ([log in to unmask]) by Monday 10^th February 2014.

 

For general information on the conference: http://www.rgs.org/WhatsOn/ConferencesAndSeminars/Annual+International+Conference/Annual+international+conference.htm

Dr Sabine Dörry
University of Oxford

School of Geography and the Environment

Dyson Perrins Building

South Parks Road

Oxford OX1 3QY

United Kingdom

 

Tel: +44 (0) 1865 275898

www.geog.ox.ac.uk/staff/sdoerry.html

 

Co-Editor Articulo - Journal of Urban Research

http://articulo.revues.org