Exchanges: infrastructures, power and the differential organisation of capital markets

The chapter analysis the role of exchanges as infrastructure providers in capital markets. While traditionally regarded as mere marketplaces, neutral spaces facilitating financial transactions, exchanges have evolved into powerful actors in their own right. Over time, exchanges have become complex organisations that enable the functioning of capital markets. While financial markets are used by investors to allocate financial assets, provide corporate financing and facilitate economic growth, certain infrastructural arrangements must exist to enable these transactions: from market data, indices, financial products, trading platforms to clearing, exchanges shape the infrastructures that underpin global capital markets. This chapter explores the commonalities and differences among exchanges, investigating their common role in the provision of financial infrastructures but also emphasizing their embeddedness within institutional environments and hierarchical positioning within the global financial system. Moreover, it addresses emerging challenges and potential contestations, particularly with the rise of exchanges in emerging markets, amidst an increasingly fragmented global economy.