Daniel Maman

Daniel Maman is a Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Ben Gurion University, Israel. His fields of interest include economic sociology, sociology of finance, comparative political economy, and institutional change. Currently, he is studying the emergence and development of financial literacy in Israel, the restructuring of Israel’s financial system, and the rebuilding of payment and settlement systems.

The project

Title: Central Banks and Technological Innovations: The Adoption of Fast Payment Systems in Israel and Sweden

"Following the global financial crisis, central banks, in contrast to their traditional course of action, increased their involvement in advancing technological innovations. Yet, economic sociology scholars have not devoted enough attention to this development. We focus on a fast retail payment system that allows the payees to receive funds within seconds. This system has been adopted in over 60 countries and is crucial to reducing the use of cash and enhancing cross-border payments. In some countries, such as Sweden, the central bank establishes and operates this system, while in others, such as Israel, its involvement is less intensive and confined to facilitating the establishment of this system and determining the operation rules. The Riksbank established and operated the RIX-Instant payment, despite the widespread use of the mobile application Swish to make and receive instant payments. The Riksbank was discontent that payments in the Swish system were settled in a privately owned system, which increased risks and costs, prevented diverse types of payments, and discouraged cross-border payments, especially with Nordic countries and the Euro area. In Israel, in contrast, the Bank of Israel encouraged the private company owned by the largest commercial banks that manage the Bank Automated Settlement System to establish and operate this system. This decision originated from the high costs and the Israeli central bank’s involvement in other financial infrastructural projects. The comparative analysis enables us to address the diverse roles of central banks in advancing technological innovations alongside other “unconventional” policies adopted since the global financial crisis."

Hosting institution: Sciences Po

Selective Bibliography

• Maman, Daniel and Zeev Rosenhek, 2011, The Israeli Central Bank: Political Economy, Global Logics and Local Actors, Abingdon and New York, Routledge.
• Maman Daniel and Zeev Rosenhek, 2019, “Responsibility, Planning and Risk Management: Moralizing Everyday Finance through Financial Education,” British Journal of Sociology, 70 (5), 1996-2017.
• Maman, Daniel and Zeev Rosenhek, 2020, “Facing Future Uncertainties and Risks through Personal Finance: Conventions in Financial Education,” Journal of Cultural Economy, 13 (3), 303-317.
• Maman Danie, 2022, “State Financial Interests and Changes in the Investment Behavior of Institutional Investors: The Case of Financial Market Development in Israel,” Socio-Economic Review, 20 (4), 2073-2093.
• Maman, Daniel and Zeev Rosenhek, 2023, “Governing Individuals’ Imaginaries and Conduct in Personal Finance: The Mobilization of Emotions in Financial Education," Journal of Consumer Culture, 23 (1): 188-208.