What is the link between finance and the real economy?
Very schematically, it is possible to say on this point, that between progressive economists, two theses
are opposed according to whether finance is considered as parasitic or functional. In order to discuss
these two positions better a possible starting point is consideration of an essential characteristic of
contemporary capitalism. From the neoliberal turn at the beginning of the 1980s the rate of profit has
recovered considerably, but this has not lead to an increase in the rate of accumulation (see diagram).
In other words the extra profits were used for something other than investment

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Michel Husson: Financial Crisis or Crisis of Capitalism?