Introduction:

Engelbert Stockhammer also focuses on the link between "Income distribution, the finance-dominated accumulation regime, and the present crisis". The author argues that while there is an agreement that the Fordist accumulation regime has come to an end in the course of the 1970s, there is no agreement on how to characterise the post-Fordist regime. In his view, the notion of a 'finance-dominated' accumulation regime is most appropriate to highlight that financial developments crucially shape the pattern and the pace of accumulation. According to the author, the finance-dominated accumulation regime is characterised by low and fragile growth. In the chapter, the interaction of distributional dynamics and the dynamics of accumulation are highlighted: A polarisation of income distribution has been an important feature of the finance-dominated accumulation regime, even if the macroeconomic effects have been different in different countries. While some countries have compensated for the stagnation of demand with debt-financed consumption, others have compensated for it with increasing net exports. Finally, according to Stockhammer, the present crisis and the stagnation of wages for large parts of the population are intrinsically linked. At the same time, one underlying cause of the present crisis has been the persistent international imbalances and the associated massive capital flows.