Discussant: Skip Mark (Assistant Professor of Economics)

Network Analysis of European Wealth, Elites, and Integration, Pre- and Post-Eurozone Crisis

Abstract: This paper evaluates the presence and evolution of network connections between the 50 largest firms in the European Union as determined by the Fortune 500, as well as their connections to governments and quasi-governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations like the OECD or the European Roundtables, and academia. It uses network models to establish whether interconnections have changed, and any trends that may have emerged along industry or national lines. In a novel turn, it also uses network models to establish possible sources of capture – regulatory, cultural, or academic – within the European Union. It helps explain how these connections might explain the relevance of corporate interests in policy formation at the national and European levels, particularly before and after the Global Financial Crisis and the ongoing Eurozone Crisis. Read the full paper here