Keir Martin

Professor Keir Martin

Political Economy Fellow 2017-18

A Theory Of The Financialized Firm

The recent events at BHS demonstrate how owners use complex firm structures, intercompany debt and limited liability privileges to avoid tax, pay special dividends and limit owner obligations. These financialized practices are now commonplace across much of the corporate sector (see Bowman et al 2015), raising important questions about the contemporary social and economic purpose of the firm.

More information

Areas of interest

Social Anthropology Inequality Papua New Guinea Political Economy Corporations Anthropology Psychology Psychotherapy Psychological Anthropology

Cohort

PEF1

Biography

Keir is Professor in Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo and was formerly a Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester. His original fieldwork was on emerging forms of socio-economic inequality in Papua New Guinea.

His current research focus is psychological anthropology, and he is PI on a Norwegian Research Council funded project, Shrinking the Planet,exploring the growth of psychotherapy among middle class populations globally. Keir is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). He is a founder member and former board member of the European Network for Psychological Anthropology.

Biographical details correct as of 12.02.25