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Network Analysis Reveals ‘Super Entity’ of Global Corporate Control

22 points by yuxt 15y ago

jacques_chester 15y ago
Stunning revelation: banks do business with everyone. Next up: rain is wet.
- vannevar 15y ago
  The report goes well beyond who does business with whom; it traces the lines of control among transnational corporations (TNCs). FTA: “despite its small size, the core holds collectively a large fraction of the total network control. In detail, nearly 4/10 of the control over the economic value of TNCs in the world is held, via a complicated web of ownership relations, by a group of 147 TNCs in the core, which has almost full control over itself. The top holders within the core can thus be thought of as an economic “super-entity” in the global network of corporations.” It would be interesting to see a followup on the individuals who sit on the boards of the 147 TNCs. It's likely to be a pretty exclusive club, since directors often sit on the boards of more than one corporation, further consolidating the decision-making authority and creating a potentially catastrophic single point of failure in the world's financial systems. We should consider restricting directors from serving on more than one board, to decentralize authority and create a more robust and diverse system of corporate governance.
  - jacques_chester 15y ago
    Shocking revelations continue: banks own shares! Still, on the subject of World Domination By An Elite Clique, you may find http://www.theyrule.net/ http://www.theyrule.net/ to be to your taste.
  - vannevar 15y ago
    Not all of the companies are banks, but even if they were, it is nonetheless a shocking degree of centralized control. It isn't just that these companies have large stakes in other companies, but that they all have large stakes in each other. Consequently, there is a lack of effective oversight by independent shareholders, not to mention the obvious opportunity and incentives for anti-competitive collusion. And the study wasn't conducted by wild-eyed conspiracy theorists, but by a group of Swiss economists. For a more scientific take on the study, see http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333389/title/Financial_world_dominated_by_a_few_deep_pockets http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333389/title/Fina... .

22 points by yuxt 15y ago

jacques_chester 15y ago

Stunning revelation: banks do business with everyone. Next up: rain is wet.

vannevar 15y ago
The report goes well beyond who does business with whom; it traces the lines of control among transnational corporations (TNCs). FTA: “despite its small size, the core holds collectively a large fraction of the total network control. In detail, nearly 4/10 of the control over the economic value of TNCs in the world is held, via a complicated web of ownership relations, by a group of 147 TNCs in the core, which has almost full control over itself. The top holders within the core can thus be thought of as an economic “super-entity” in the global network of corporations.” It would be interesting to see a followup on the individuals who sit on the boards of the 147 TNCs. It's likely to be a pretty exclusive club, since directors often sit on the boards of more than one corporation, further consolidating the decision-making authority and creating a potentially catastrophic single point of failure in the world's financial systems. We should consider restricting directors from serving on more than one board, to decentralize authority and create a more robust and diverse system of corporate governance.
- jacques_chester 15y ago
  Shocking revelations continue: banks own shares! Still, on the subject of World Domination By An Elite Clique, you may find http://www.theyrule.net/ http://www.theyrule.net/ to be to your taste.
- vannevar 15y ago
  Not all of the companies are banks, but even if they were, it is nonetheless a shocking degree of centralized control. It isn't just that these companies have large stakes in other companies, but that they all have large stakes in each other. Consequently, there is a lack of effective oversight by independent shareholders, not to mention the obvious opportunity and incentives for anti-competitive collusion. And the study wasn't conducted by wild-eyed conspiracy theorists, but by a group of Swiss economists. For a more scientific take on the study, see http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333389/title/Financial_world_dominated_by_a_few_deep_pockets http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333389/title/Fina... .