Tim Sinclair was a trailblazer in the modern study of the politics and social foundations of global finance. This volume provides a beautiful reminder of the creative, multi-faceted, and eclectic nature of his ideas by advancing debates on many topics he encouraged us to analyse in his important work. It stands as a testament to the enduring value and legacies of the innovative Sinclairian approach to the subject. A triple-A rating!
— Eric Helleiner, University of Waterloo

Tim Sinclair's work has been an inspiration for generations of scholars of the political economy of global finance. This volume showcases the seminal power of Sinclair’s insights, explores the intellectual roots of Sinclair’s ideas and demonstrates beautifully how those ideas continue to inspire research on the most recent developments in contemporary financial markets. An engaging read for long-time fans of Sinclair’s work and a wonderful introduction for those who are yet to discover it.
— Zsófia Barta, Sciences Po Paris

Chris Clarke is Reader in Political Economy at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Ethics and Economic Governance: Using Adam Smith to Understand the Global Financial Crisis.


Ben Clift is Professor of Political Economy and Director of Research at the University of Warwick. His most recent book is The Office for Budget Responsibility and the Politics of Technocratic Economic Governance (2023).

Foreword by Katie Lavelle


1. Introduction: Timothy Sinclair’s social foundations approach to global finance

Chris Clarke and Ben Clift


2. CRAs and the idea of history: the role of synchronic and diachronic mental frameworks in the work of Timothy J. Sinclair

Randall Germain


3. Tim Sinclair’s iconoclastic relationship with Marxism

Magnus Ryner


4. Disintermediated knowledge industries: thinking about academic knowledge production with Timothy J. Sinclair

Aida Hozic


5. From ratings to infrastructures: uncovering the micro-foundations and global politics of finance

Johannes Petry


6. The political economy of credit rating agencies: American short-termist universalism, Europe’s acquiescence, and East Asia’s resistance

Fumihito Gotoh, Norbert Gaillard and Rick Michalek


7. Managing multiple audiences: the importance of legitimacy for bond index providers and the politics of bond indexing

Dan Wood


8. The social foundations of finance in an era of fintech

Chris Clarke


9. The queen and the perfect bicycle

Timothy Sinclair


10. Of markets and models: the extended realm of the mundane in the social foundations of finance approach

Matthew Watson