Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a whole. The power and fragility of the financial sector are seen by the simple fact that when things go wrong, it can bring down banks, currencies, and governments, plunging countries into generations of debt and hardship.Malcolm Sawyer, a leading authority on the economics of finance, offers a comprehensive survey and critical review of recent work on financialization and its impact on economic growth and inequality. The book draws on and distills a remarkable range of research to provide readers with a guide to current thinking and on future directions such as the prospects for definancialization.