The economic sector, according to the CS, revolves “around access to the resources, finance and markets necessary to sustain acceptable levels of welfare and state power” (Williams, 2008: 4). Economic threats can have direct consequences for individuals, nations and states thus threaten the very existence of these entities. However, one should keep in mind that while some economic threats can be thought of in terms of economic security, others can only be regarded as politicized issues because of the highly political nature of some economic problems. Thus, it is of crucial importance to make the distinction. Economic threats must be existential threats to be included in the category of securitization. In the economic sector, one can detect various referent objects at different levels. States, individuals, or the global market can be identified as referent objects. The CS argues that economic threats can directly affect the welfare of individuals or social classes and thus can be regarded as existential threats. An economic crisis, for example, can hamper individuals’ access to basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter and constitute an existential threat to individuals. Economic threats can also be presented as threats in other sectors. “What is merely economic or political within the economic sector may have security implications in other sectors” (Buzan et. al., 1998: 106). State representatives, for example, can present an economic crisis as an impediment to the funding of national defense expenditures and consequently an existential threat to national security. States also can securitize threats to the existence of large firms or companies through linking their activities to national security. In the economic sector, state representatives, international organizations and firms can be included in the category of securitizing actors.