Liquid Assets and 'Market Makers': Finance Professionals' Water Valuations and their Blue Ambitions

Objective

This economic anthropology study, BLUFIN, explores the emergent field of blue finance to examine how the leaders and experts of financial institutions value, envision, and influence the ownership and management of water resources. 'Blue finance' captures financial institutions’ growing pursuit of water investments, treating them as financial assets expected to grow in future monetary value with water’s increasing scarcity. Investments in water are categorised under the umbrella of ‘sustainable finance’, and are presented by its proponents as financial markets’ effort to protect future water resources.This study questions whether blue finance can ensure equitable and sustainable management of water resources for all. To do so, this project proposes 3 research objectives that will; 1) examine the proliferation and size of blue finance in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, 2) produce an ethnographic account of how finance professionals value and envision the future of water investments, and 3) explore how finance professionals influence the management and ownership of water. To pursue these objectives, 3 months of ethnographic fieldwork will be conducted in Switzerland and 3 months in Liechtenstein within financial institutions (banks, private equity firms, pension funds, asset management firms). Both countries share the Swiss franc as currency, and are internationally renowned for their globally connected finance sectors, holding roughly a third of the world’s financial wealth. This makes the two countries ideal blue finance case studies. BLUFIN will produce a multitude of outputs incl. 3 peer-reviewed journal articles, a short video public engagement series, and it will transfer knowledge via teaching/workshops/conferences. Access to water represents a global challenge, essential for humans and non-human species worldwide. Studying how blue finance may affect future management and ownership of this precious resource is a necessary and pressing research endeavour.