About
Professor Brooke Harrington
I’m an Economic Sociologist studying the offshore financial system and the professionals who run it. My research addresses inequality, both political and economic, as well as globalization and the professions.
Who creates change in markets and other financial institutions? I’m interested in how things get done–what social actors actually do in their daily lives–and how that aggregates to the macro-level of financial markets, culture and political institutions. My work intersects with the literatures of political economy, anthropology, social psychology and behavioral finance.
Since 2007, I’ve focused on the offshore financial system, which I studied from the inside after spending two years earning a wealth management credential; that was followed by six more years traveling to every region of the world, interviewing and interacting with practitioners in 18 offshore centers. The findings of my ethnographic research contribute to the literatures on inequality, political economy and the professions. The book and articles that emerged from this ongoing study are linked below.
Previously, my research examined the effects of deception and fraud in financial markets, as well as the impact of diversity on the performance and decision-making processes of investment groups..