The developing carbon financial service industry:expertise, adaptation and complementarity inLondon and New York

摘要

This article looks at the role of market complementarities in developing new carbonmarkets. I argue that markets are composed of social as well as economic networks.The reliance of these networks on social connectivity and proximity makes thedevelopment of new markets particularly suited to established financial centerslike London and New York and reinforces the importance of these centers. Londonand New York provide not only resources and financial infrastructure, but alsoinstitutional proximity that develops routines and practices between complementaryfirms. I investigate three levels of complementarity between (existent and new) marketsand within the new carbon markets: the complementarity of expertise and information,the complementarity of institutions and services and the complementarity of marketsystems. Case studies constructed from expert interviews in London and New York areused to support the argument. This article concludes by commenting on the dialecticnature of financial agglomeration and market embeddedness.