Reimagining geographies of public finance

August, Martine; Cohen, Dan; Danyluk, Martin; Kass, Amanda; Ponder, C. S.; Rosenman, Emily

Abstract

The study of public finance—the role of government in the economy—has faded in geography as attention to private finance has grown. Disrupting the tendency to fetishize private financial power, this article proposes an expanded conception of public finance that emphasizes its role in shaping geographies of inequality. We conceptualize the relationship between public and private finance as a dynamic interface characterized today by asymmetrical power relations, path-dependent policy solutions, the depoliticization of markets, and uneven distributional effects. A reimagined theory and praxis of public finance can contribute to building abolitionist futures, and geographers are well positioned to advance this project.

Citation

August, M., Cohen, D., Danyluk, M., Kass, A., Ponder, C. S., & Rosenman, E. (2022). Reimagining geographies of public finance. Progress in Human Geography, 46(2), 527-548. https://doi.org/10.1177/03091325211054963

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 6, 2021
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 6, 2021
• Journal: Progress in Human Geography
• Print ISSN: 0309-1325
• Electronic ISSN: 1477-0288
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 46
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 527-548
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/03091325211054963
• Keywords: Public finance; abolitionist geographies; intersectionality; inequality; financial geographies; central banking; fiscal geographies
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/6359658
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03091325211054963