Introduction

Abstract

Arguing that the emergence of new cooperative relations between financial and nonfinancial actors is at the core of the recent rise of finance, this chapter proposes a new perspective on financialization processes that is based on sociological field theory. Golka argues that support from nonfinancial actors such as governments is vital for financial actors seeking to expand the reach of capital to different areas of social life, including social welfare or environmental protection. To understand how such cooperation unfolds—or is contained—Golka traces the development of social impact investing, financial products that aim at the provision of social welfare, through its interaction with British social policy. He argues that investors’ success in forging cooperation hinged upon their abilities to frame financialization as social welfare.