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Health in the age of asset manager capitalism

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journal contribution
posted on 2024-10-14, 05:19 authored by Ben WoodBen Wood, Andrew McLean, Gary SacksGary Sacks
Abstract A relatively small number of for-profit asset managers—financial intermediaries that invest capital on behalf of other investors—have emerged in recent decades to become some of the most influential commercial actors in the global political economy. Despite their important role in society, asset managers have received little attention from a public health perspective. In this article, we aimed to propose a conceptual framework of potential pathways and mechanisms through which asset managers may influence health and equity. The framework included asset class-specific pathways related to investments in publicly listed corporate equity, private equity, ‘real assets’ (e.g. housing, hospitals, farmland) and commodities. The framework also included more generalized pathways, focusing on ways in which the large and highly concentrated asset management sector can drive economic inequities, influence policy and political decision-making and shape the global ‘development’ agenda. We argue that measures challenging so-called ‘asset manager capitalism’, such as promoting and protecting the public ownership of companies and assets in essential sectors, are imperative to address the commercial determinants of ill health and inequity.

History

Journal

Health Promotion International

Volume

39

Article number

daae124

Pagination

1-11

Location

Oxford, Eng.

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

0957-4824

eISSN

1460-2245

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

5

Publisher

Oxford University Press

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