Aggregate and regional effects of financialisation in CEE countries

Our paper contributes to the literature on modern economy financialisation and relies on national and regional data on wages and employment distribution in the F&I and Industry sectors in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. We evaluate the effects of financialisation in this part of Europe, focusing on different levels of aggregation. By focusing on NUTS-2 and NUTS-3 regions, we extend the analytical strand beyond the national level and fill the gap in regional research on financialisation. Central and Eastern Europe is a beneficiary of the financialisation process and the transfer of financial services from the West to the East. This process changes social, economic, and political relationships in both parts of Europe. In CEE countries, financialisation has resulted in two types of positive aggregate effects: job creation in the financial sector and the increase of wages, which close the pay gap between Old and New EU. However, these processes at the regional level led to higher regional disparities. We then examine the disparities between regions with the highest concentration of F&I, so-called 'global cities', and other regions. This process of spatial segregation is the most striking phenomenon of financialisation in CEE countries.