5 - Valuation Structures

Summary

This chapter develops an innovative explanation of the social structures implicated in the construction of financial value. In particular, it explains asset circles: an asset circle is a set of potential investors who see a particular security as investible in the sense that they are aware of its existence and would be prepared to purchase it in the right circumstances. Asset circles are essential to the very existence of financial assets, and an important factor in determining their value. The chapter begins by extending the discussion of critical realist approaches to social ontology, notably the role played by social structures. It then builds incrementally towards the concept of asset circles by first discussing simpler structures that are also fundamental to understanding financial value: norm circles, monetary circles, and monetary complexes.