Investment and the rate of profit in a financial context: the French case

The growth regime prevailing in France since the middle of the 1980s allowed for a recovery of profitability, yet without durable resumption of growth or accumulation of fixed capital. The financialization of this growth regime shows on both the asset and liability sides of the balance sheets. Following a post-Keynesian framework, we analyse and test the main determinants of real investment and financial capital accumulation for non-financial companies in France, based on data from the flow-of-funds accounts. This analysis points to an arbitrage, prevailing between real and financial accumulation, as a key reason explaining the insufficient recovery of investment.