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N orwegian Agro‐Food Attracting P rivate E quity Capital; Varieties of Capitalism – Varieties of Financialisation?
Author(s) -
Klimek Bjørn,
Bjørkhaug Hilde
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
sociologia ruralis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1467-9523
pISSN - 0038-0199
DOI - 10.1111/soru.12112
Subject(s) - capitalism , competition (biology) , capital (architecture) , productivity , agriculture , market economy , economics , variety (cybernetics) , economic system , political science , economic growth , history , ecology , archaeology , politics , law , biology , artificial intelligence , computer science
Due to the (relatively) small scale of the N orwegian food industry, P rivate E quity capital is deeply involved in the structural development of the sector through acquisitions and takeovers. The N orwegian social‐democratic model of agriculture, with its attempts to maintain farming all over the country, struggles with comparative disadvantages in productivity and P rivate E quity capital is investing in direct competition with farmer co‐operatives. An outline of the socioeconomic characteristics of the N orwegian model as well as those of P rivate E quity illuminates why they both fit well together. Thus, we argue in this article that it is the N orwegian model of agriculture, with its non‐market based elements, that today attracts finance capital and discuss whether this involvement of finance capital can be considered as a process of financialisation. Findings based on analysis of case‐studies of P rivate E quity buyout in the agro‐food industry suggest that the economic motives of P rivate E quity takeovers are based on a combination of typical industry capitalism with investments in productivity and efficiency, rather than merely financialisation. Findings are interpreted in a variety of capitalism framework combining social theory on financialisation with business school theories on P rivate E quity transactions.