Entangled Economies: Sovereign Wealth Funds Influence on the Global Economy

Since the 2008 financial crisis, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) from countries like China, Singapore, and Kuwait have injected hundreds of billions into the global economy, serving as tools of economic influence. Nationally, SWFs align financial power with strategic foreign policy goals. Locally, foreign ownership through SWFs dilutes domestic shareholders, sparking tensions between local and foreign investors. This project explores these dynamics, mapping a transnational network of “spiderweb capitalism” linking China and the U.S. Using primary and secondary sources it examines how sovereign wealth funds reshape global power and intertwines with the political interests of elites in developed and developing economies.

Essential and Preferred Skills:

Students with an interest in questions around global political economy. Any student with an interest in sociology, political science, anthropology, economic, public policy are welcome. Students working on this project will help to gather data (newspaper articles, government reports, original and secondary sources), organize the data, and begin analyzing the data. Python coding skills and reading knowledge in Chinese are necessary.