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In the chapter, ‘The accumulation mode of production in Mexico and the economic structure of the manufacturing industry,’ the author discusses the stagnation of productivity of the workforce in relation to the dominance of large corporations that are connected to global commodity chains and use global competitive advantages to maximize profits; meanwhile, small and medium enterprises compete on the basis of lower costs (wages), which reduces the growth of accumulation and productivity.

In the chapter, ‘The big financial crisis and the European economic adjustment: a road towards the strengthening of the neoliberal agenda,’ the authors argue that the institutional design of the eurozone does not allow for the deployment of fiscal and monetary policies to overcome the crisis, which raises the need for a thorough analysis of European integration in terms of macroeconomic and social aspects, accompanied by an assessment of the economic policies necessary to restore growth.

In the chapter, ‘Debt deflation theory and the Great Recession,’ on the basis of the theory of Irving Fisher, the authors analyse the accumulation of debt in the USA and Europe, emphasizing that the monetary policy deployed in the former did manage to save the banking system, and this did not happen in Europe due to the European Central Bank being less able to intervene in the economy, and the absence of an authority empowered to coordinate spending.

In the chapter, ‘Economic growth and financial development in Mexico: from a virtuous circle of a bi-directional causality to financial subordination,’ the authors develop the theme of bank lending to non-financial activities in the context of the Mexican economy between 1990 and 2013. An empirical and econometric assessment shows that deregulation and globalization, instead of increasing savings, caused the banking system to lose sight of its core activity, which is the financing of production. On this basis, the authors assert the need to establish regulatory mechanisms to ensure financial resources for production.

In the chapter, ‘Transformations of entrepreneurial capitalism, crises and the need for a radical change in economic policy,’ the authors argue that the financial and economic crisis that began in 2007 is part of a general breakdown in the corporate capitalist order that affects real and financial sectors alike. They identify two practices that have generated profound changes in the capitalist system, which altered the practices of financial and banking institutions, enabling financiers to concentrate their wealth independently of the productive sector. This has combined with austerity-based economic policies that have caused productive activity to stagnate below full employment levels.

In the chapter, ‘Global disequilibria and the inequitable distribution of income,’ the author focuses on the income inequality generated by the disconnect between the financial and productive sectors, which is reflected in growing current account imbalances and large cross-border transactions, explained by the predominant monetary asymmetries in the current capitalist period, generated by the USA that holds the privilege of being the sole issuer of international money.

In the chapter, ‘Inequality, technological change and worldwide economic recovery,’ the author argues that the financial system becomes dysfunctional when it is uncoupled from the productive sector, because it promotes non-productive activities that produce large short-term profits, accompanied by technological development that leads to unemployment as a result of digital technology and artificial intelligence. In addition, the combination of these processes slows down economic growth and leads to income concentration, preventing full economic development.