Documents Fligstein, Neil 3 results

"Early theorists of European integration speculated that economic integration would lead to political integration and a European identity. A European identity has not displaced national identities in the EU, but, for a significant share of EU citizens, a European identity exists alongside a national identity. At the same time, political parties asserting more traditional nationalist identities and policies have directed their dissatisfaction against immigrants, foreigners and, sometimes, the EU. Those who participate in ‘Europe' are more likely to develop a European identity, while those whose economic and social horizons are essentially local are more likely to assert nationalist identities. It is argued in this article that the issue of European and national identity plays a heightened role in European politics, particularly in the economic crisis of 2007–11. The resolution of that crisis, which may result in increased European political co-operation, will have to take into account highly salient national identities that have so far resisted such co-operation."

"The 2007–2009 financial crisis was centered on the US mortgage industry. This article develops a distinctly sociological explanation of that crisis by focusing on the organization of firms in the production of mortgage-backed securities. We use archival and secondary sources to show that the industry became dominated by an ‘industrial' conception of control whereby financial firms vertically integrated in order to capture profits in all phases of the mortgage industry. The results of multivariate regression analyses show that the ‘industrial' model drove the deterioration in the quality of securities that firms issued and significantly contributed to the eventual failure of the firms that pursued the strategy. Among large banks globally, those which were more vertically integrated also experienced greater investment losses. The findings challenge existing conventional accounts of the crisis and provide important theoretical implications for the social-scientific study of financial markets."