ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the spatial and social processes of accumulation by focusing on the role of the credit system in promoting uneven regional development and focuses on the effects of finance capital on development in the southern United States. It analyses capital flows between regions to assess the role of financial institutions in promoting economic developing in the South and examines the manner in which capital flowed into the region. The chapter argues that the type of development promoted by financial institutions continues to place the southern economy in a precarious position. Financial institutions thus play an important, active role in regional development. Because financial institutions seek to invest in low-risk opportunities, they may ignore investments that in the long-run may be profitable and contribute to regional economic development. The conflict between regional and national finance capitalists will influence future development in the South. Bank regulations-have benefited regional and national finance capitalists.
