Handbook of Comparative Political Economy
Published on 22. August 2025
Book
Hardback
610 pages
978-1-0353-2777-5 (ISBN)
Description
This comprehensive Handbook presents an overview of the evolution and current state of Comparative Political Economy (CPE). Taking an interdisciplinary approach, it explores the leading theories, main actors, key institutions, policy areas, geographical boundaries and emerging themes in the field.
Leading scholars discuss competing theoretical perspectives, providing an inclusive and pluralist analysis of CPE. They examine under-researched locations and subject areas, delving into detailed case studies on topics such as capitalism in Latin America; the political economy of Chinese development; and capitalism, democracy and development in the newly advanced economies of South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Chapters assess the evolution of monetary policy, particularly since the subprime crises, as well as the historical advancement of central banks. They further investigate macroeconomic theory and highlight future directions of research in the rapidly evolving discipline of CPE.
Students and scholars of political economy, comparative politics, economic sociology, organizational studies and non-mainstream economics will greatly benefit from this incisive Handbook. It is also a vital resource for practitioners in business and the economic press.
Leading scholars discuss competing theoretical perspectives, providing an inclusive and pluralist analysis of CPE. They examine under-researched locations and subject areas, delving into detailed case studies on topics such as capitalism in Latin America; the political economy of Chinese development; and capitalism, democracy and development in the newly advanced economies of South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Chapters assess the evolution of monetary policy, particularly since the subprime crises, as well as the historical advancement of central banks. They further investigate macroeconomic theory and highlight future directions of research in the rapidly evolving discipline of CPE.
Students and scholars of political economy, comparative politics, economic sociology, organizational studies and non-mainstream economics will greatly benefit from this incisive Handbook. It is also a vital resource for practitioners in business and the economic press.
Reviews / Votes
'To understand the field of comparative political economy - the history and the current state-of-the-art, the big picture and the fine details, the frameworks and the findings, the concepts and the comparisons, the agreements and disagreements, the questions answered and those yet to be explored - this Handbook is the place to go.' -- Lane Kenworthy, University of California San Diego, USA 'In his splendid Handbook, Marino Regini not only assembles a stellar cast of distinguished practitioners from Europe and America; he also demonstrates how needed such a volume is to the interdisciplinary field of Comparative Political Economy. Regini not only knows the cast of characters; he places them accurately and creatively in the rich panoply of this increasingly important field.' -- Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University, USAMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 169 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-2777-5 (9781035327775)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Edited by Marino Regini, Professor Emeritus of Economic Sociology, Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
Content
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements xi
INTRODUCTION
Comparative political economy: an evolving field of interdisciplinary research 2
Marino Regini
PART I THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS AND DOMINANT APPROACHES
1 Neo-institutionalism: the role of institutions in political-economic
performance 30
John L. Campbell
2 Power resources theory and distributive outcomes 48
Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens
3 The role of ideas and discourse in comparative political economy 68
Vivien A. Schmidt
4 The varieties of capitalism theory revisited 87
Colin Crouch
5 The growth model approach to political economy 102
Lucio Baccaro and Jonas Pontusson
6 Understanding how political economies change 119
Peter A. Hall
PART II THE MAIN ACTORS IN COMPARATIVE POLITICAL ECONOMY
7 States making markets and markets making states 137
Ulrike Lepont, Desmond King and Patrick Le Gales
8 Governing money: Central banks in international and comparative political
economy 153
Manuela Moschella
9 Business power in contemporary democracies 168
Pepper D. Culpepper
10 The role of employers' associations 183
Emmanuele Pavolini, Sabrina Colombo and David Natali
11 The role of trade unions 202
Guglielmo Meardi
12 Families as economic and social actors 220
Gosta Esping-Andersen
PART III INSTITUTIONS AND POLICY AREAS
13 The political economy of the welfare state: From power resources to
varieties of capitalism to growth strategies 235
Anke Hassel and Bruno Palier
14 Labour market policy in comparative political economy research 253
Georg Picot
15 The comparative political economy of industrial relations 267
Chiara Benassi, Lisa Dorigatti and Arianna Tassinari
16 The political economy of skill formation 286
Marius R. Busemeyer
17 Industrial policies 303
Alberta Andreotti, Luigi Burroni and Ivana Pais
18 The changing role of finance in comparative political economy 322
Sofia A. Perez
PART IV VARIETIES OF CAPITALISM AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL
19 The political economy of Chinese development 342
Margaret M. Pearson, Meg Rithmire and Kellee S. Tsai
20 Capitalism, democracy and development in newly advanced East Asia:
South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore 361
Nahee Kang, Bo-Jiun Jing and Jessica Loy
21 Capitalism in Latin America: Varieties, models, and dependencies 376
Isadora Araujo Cruxen and Ben Ross Schneider
22 Firms and economic development in the semi-periphery 395
Sonja Avlijas and Kira Gartzou-Katsouyanni
23 Global varieties of capitalism: The future or no future? 414
Michael A. Witt
PART V SHIFTING BOUNDARIES AND NEW THEMES
24 The relationship(s) between comparative and international political
economy 435
Mark Blyth
25 Comparative political economy and social stratification research: Varieties
of social mobility? 452
Gabriele Ballarino and Floriane Bolazzi
26 Growth models and the politics of social reproduction 470
Dorothee Bohle
27 Culture and the study of comparative political economies 487
Cathie Jo Martin
28 Models of capitalism and types of democracy 503
Carlo Trigilia
29 Climate change as a new research field for comparative political economy 517
Hanna Schwander
30 The second digital revolution: superstar clusters and the polarizing
reinvention of advanced capitalism 536
David Soskice
EPILOGUE
Comparative political economy: past, present, future 555
Wolfgang Streeck
Preface and Acknowledgements xi
INTRODUCTION
Comparative political economy: an evolving field of interdisciplinary research 2
Marino Regini
PART I THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS AND DOMINANT APPROACHES
1 Neo-institutionalism: the role of institutions in political-economic
performance 30
John L. Campbell
2 Power resources theory and distributive outcomes 48
Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens
3 The role of ideas and discourse in comparative political economy 68
Vivien A. Schmidt
4 The varieties of capitalism theory revisited 87
Colin Crouch
5 The growth model approach to political economy 102
Lucio Baccaro and Jonas Pontusson
6 Understanding how political economies change 119
Peter A. Hall
PART II THE MAIN ACTORS IN COMPARATIVE POLITICAL ECONOMY
7 States making markets and markets making states 137
Ulrike Lepont, Desmond King and Patrick Le Gales
8 Governing money: Central banks in international and comparative political
economy 153
Manuela Moschella
9 Business power in contemporary democracies 168
Pepper D. Culpepper
10 The role of employers' associations 183
Emmanuele Pavolini, Sabrina Colombo and David Natali
11 The role of trade unions 202
Guglielmo Meardi
12 Families as economic and social actors 220
Gosta Esping-Andersen
PART III INSTITUTIONS AND POLICY AREAS
13 The political economy of the welfare state: From power resources to
varieties of capitalism to growth strategies 235
Anke Hassel and Bruno Palier
14 Labour market policy in comparative political economy research 253
Georg Picot
15 The comparative political economy of industrial relations 267
Chiara Benassi, Lisa Dorigatti and Arianna Tassinari
16 The political economy of skill formation 286
Marius R. Busemeyer
17 Industrial policies 303
Alberta Andreotti, Luigi Burroni and Ivana Pais
18 The changing role of finance in comparative political economy 322
Sofia A. Perez
PART IV VARIETIES OF CAPITALISM AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL
19 The political economy of Chinese development 342
Margaret M. Pearson, Meg Rithmire and Kellee S. Tsai
20 Capitalism, democracy and development in newly advanced East Asia:
South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore 361
Nahee Kang, Bo-Jiun Jing and Jessica Loy
21 Capitalism in Latin America: Varieties, models, and dependencies 376
Isadora Araujo Cruxen and Ben Ross Schneider
22 Firms and economic development in the semi-periphery 395
Sonja Avlijas and Kira Gartzou-Katsouyanni
23 Global varieties of capitalism: The future or no future? 414
Michael A. Witt
PART V SHIFTING BOUNDARIES AND NEW THEMES
24 The relationship(s) between comparative and international political
economy 435
Mark Blyth
25 Comparative political economy and social stratification research: Varieties
of social mobility? 452
Gabriele Ballarino and Floriane Bolazzi
26 Growth models and the politics of social reproduction 470
Dorothee Bohle
27 Culture and the study of comparative political economies 487
Cathie Jo Martin
28 Models of capitalism and types of democracy 503
Carlo Trigilia
29 Climate change as a new research field for comparative political economy 517
Hanna Schwander
30 The second digital revolution: superstar clusters and the polarizing
reinvention of advanced capitalism 536
David Soskice
EPILOGUE
Comparative political economy: past, present, future 555
Wolfgang Streeck