Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth CenturyMark Blyth argues that economic ideas are powerful political tools as used by domestic groups in order to effect change since whoever defines what the economy is, what is wrong with it, and what would improve it, has a profound political resource in their possession. Blyth analyzes the 1930s and 1970s, two periods of deep-seated institutional change that characterized the twentieth century. Viewing both periods of change as part of the same dynamic, Blyth argues that the 1930s labor reacted against the exigencies of the market and demanded state action to mitigate the market's effects by "embedding liberalism" and the 1970s, those who benefited least from such "embedding" institutions, namely business, reacted against these constraints and sought to overturn that institutional order. In Great Transformations, Blyth demonstrates the critical role economic ideas played in making institutional change possible and he rethinks the relationship between uncertainty, ideas, and interests on how, and under what conditions, institutional change takes place. Mark Blyth is an assistant professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University specializing in comparative political economy. He has taught at Columbia University, and at the University of Birmingham, UK. Blyth is a member of the editorial board of the Review of International Political Economy. |
Contents
Karl Polanyi and Institutional Change | 3 |
A Theory of Institutional Change | 17 |
II | 47 |
Building American Embedded Liberalism | 49 |
Building Swedish Embedded Liberalism | 96 |
Disembedding Liberalism Ideas to Break a Bargain | 126 |
Other editions - View all
Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the ... Mark Blyth Limited preview - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
administration agents American argued arguments became Berman Bill billion bourgeois budget business's capital cartelization coalition collective action Committee Congress Consequently Conservatives crisis David Stockman deficit deflation demand Democracy depression Despite developed domestic economic ideas Economic Policy economists effects embedded liberal institutions embedded liberalism existing institutions fact fiscal funds given growth Ibid ideational increased industrial inflation inflationary institutional change interest rates investment Keynes Keynesian Knightian uncertainty krona Macroeconomic ment Milton Friedman monetarism monetarist monetary policy money supply National NIRA nomic Party percent postwar problem promote proposed public choice theory quoted rational expectations Reagan reduce uncertainty reform response Riksdag role Roosevelt sector Social Democratic Social Security sound finance spending stability stagnationist Steinmo Stockholm strategy structural supply-side Sweden Swedish economy Swedish embedded liberalism tax cuts Theda Skocpol theory Timbro tion transformation unemployment unions United wage welfare workers York