Book Discussion: The Rise of Central Banks

At the end of March, the MPIfG hosted a public book discussion on research group leader Leon Wansleben’s recent book, The Rise of Central Banks: State Power in Financial Capitalism (Harvard University Press, 2023). Moderated by Martin Höpner (MPIfG), the panel discussion with historical sociologist Greta Krippner (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), economic sociologist Benjamin Braun (MPIfG), and sociologist Matthias Thiemann (Sciences Po, Paris) addressed and developed the book’s central issues from different perspectives: Why has global finance gone from crisis to crisis over the past decades, despite central banks’ growing influence and promise of stability? What were the developments that led to central banks becoming so influential? The lively debate explored the operational entanglements between monetarist governing techniques, financial market expansion, and neoliberalism at a time of increasingly powerful central banks.
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