Patrick Artus is associate professor at the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, and Chief Economist at Natixis.

“The globalization of finance is generating repeated crises, whose rhythm is accelerating. The question today is not that of knowing if there will soon be a crisis and if it will be financial, rather what will be the triggering factor for the crisis. Will it be an “apocalyptic” international financial crisis?” P. A.

With this new book, Patrick Artus denounces the excesses of financial globalization and the threat they present to the prosperity of the world. Whereas the real economy has entered into a phase of de-globalization marked by the return of production close to the final consumer, we are witnessing a considerable expansion of finance with volumes of loans and of the international flows of capital at never-before-seen levels. Patrick Artus examines here the causes of this expansion – deregulation, lax monetary policies, dangerous strategic choices made by central banks – before looking at the destructive consequences for the stability of economies, notably those of emerging countries, and thus for world growth.

If the threat is becoming clearer – and this book shows that brilliantly – it is not, however, inevitable: there are remedies to “deflate” finance, provided that financial players (central banks, States…) agree to reestablish goals for long-term stability.