Private Equity and the Demise of the Local
The Loss of Community Economic Power and Autonomy

This Element discusses how by extracting wealth from their investments, private equity weakens communities and local economies.

Maryann Feldman (Author), Martin Kenney (Author)

9781009321846, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 May 2024

98 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 0.6 cm, 0.16 kg

'Through lucid and compelling prose, Feldman and Kenney make a case not just for researchers to expand the evidentiary base of Private Equity impacts on communities but also for policymakers and other civil servants to enact stronger PE regulation and oversight.' Daniel Armanios, Administrative Science Quarterly

Capitalism is a powerful engine that requires finance. Private equity is part of the neoliberal transformation of capitalism that has failed the average citizen and unleashed a tsunami of leveraged acquisitions that have destroyed entire sectors of our economy. Private equity has become a powerful force that has moved from restructuring industrial firms to buying up just about any economic activity in local communities that has assets that can be monetized, without any consideration of the impact on the quality of life and well-being of the community. Th a process has been aided and abetted by government policy. The authors of this Element explain the workings of the private equity model and the reasons it has been so profitable. They document the effects of PE on firms and communities by examining a range of activities that once had a local focus. They conclude by offering policy recommendations.

1. The state of the nation
2. The private equity model and the looting of local economies
3. Surveying the demise of the local
4. What kind of future do we want?
References.

Subject Areas: Corporate governance [KJR]