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Last October we watched an exclusive preview of the new film by economist John Christensen; we now present the final version of:


The Finance Curse

with Q&A with John Christensen &panellists

Hettie O'Brien (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/hettie-o-brien)

Anthea Lawson  (https://www.anthealawson.uk/how-not-to-save-the-world)

and Leo David Hyde (https://filmfreeway.com/CallMeIntern)



We are told that finance is the goose that lays the golden eggs; that Britain's prosperity depends upon the success of the City of London. Politicians repeat the claim, the financial press reinforces it and most economists accept it as fact. But when the evidence is examined, a very different picture emerges.


The Finance Curse film argues that countries with unusually large financial sectors consistently underperform in many respects. Productivity growth slows. Investment in productive business declines. Manufacturing weakens. Skills and education suffer. Regional inequality grows. Public infrastructure is neglected. Living standards stagnate for many people even while enormous fortunes are accumulated within finance itself.


The question, then, is obvious. If finance is supposedly creating so much wealth, why are so many of the indicators of national wellbeing moving in the wrong direction?



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