The Comparative Institutionalist Approach: the Best Method for Understanding International Political Economy and Social Policies?
As our understanding increases and global institutions become more complex, it is less and less likely for a single monolithic grand theory to properly explain the inner workings of all … Continue reading
Social Policy and International Development Aid
The U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals One definition of social policy is the provision of social services including health care, education, housing, and social security. Many developing countries cannot provide … Continue reading
What “New Institutional Economics” might have to say about Social Policy
New Institutional Economics came about near the beginning of the twentieth century with Ronald Coase’s 1937 study “The Nature of the Firm”. Coase contradicted the prevailing wisdom by asserting that … Continue reading
Capitalist/socialist state actors in China: No more dichotomy
[The following comments offer a brief summary of a key component of Philip C. C. Huang’s 2011 article, “The Theoretical and Practical Implications of China’s Development Experience: The Role of … Continue reading
Political Parties and the Welfare State
The infrastructure and style of implementing social services may be shaped by several diverse factors, including social and cultural norms, constitutional rights, and party politics. In Development and Crisis of … Continue reading
Markets as Institutions and Market Reform as a Constructive Process
Steven K. Vogel, writing in 2007, challenges the neoliberal concept of “free markets” and the idea that these markets become more competitive through a deconstructive process of deregulation. First, the … Continue reading
Necessary Knowledge discussion: What to learn to improve the world
What must we understand in order to create a social order that satisfies (at least) the material needs of individuals in a nation? Berlin’s Marx proposes that Das Kapital was … Continue reading
Think Out Loud 