Deconstructing Berkeley Political Economy: Power, Policy, and Progress
The University of California, Berkeley, isn't just a renowned institution of higher learning; it's a crucible where ideas about power, economics, and social justice collide and ignite. The "Berkeley political economy" – a term encompassing a broad range of approaches and perspectives – isn't a monolithic entity, but rather a vibrant ecosystem of thought that deeply influences policy debates worldwide. This article delves into the core principles, key figures, real-world applications, and lasting impact of this influential school of thought, exploring its complexities and attempting to unravel its unique contribution to understanding the intricate relationship between politics and economics.
The Core Tenets: Blending Theory and Practice
Berkeley political economy distinguishes itself by its interdisciplinary approach. It doesn't confine itself to traditional economic models but integrates insights from sociology, history, anthropology, and law to provide a richer, more nuanced understanding of economic systems. Key tenets include:
Critical Examination of Power Structures: Berkeley political economy consistently scrutinizes the distribution of power within and between nations. It analyzes how political decisions shape economic outcomes, focusing on inequalities of wealth, income, and opportunity. This critical lens often challenges neoliberal assumptions and highlights the role of institutions, social norms, and historical legacies in perpetuating economic disparities.
Emphasis on Institutional Analysis: Unlike purely market-based approaches, Berkeley political economy emphasizes the crucial role of institutions – formal and informal – in shaping economic behavior. This includes government regulation, international organizations, corporate governance, and even social customs. The impact of these institutions on economic growth, development, and inequality is a central focus.
Historical Contextualization: The historical context is paramount in Berkeley's approach. Analyzing contemporary economic issues requires understanding their historical roots and the long-term consequences of past policies and events. This historical awareness helps avoid simplistic explanations and fosters a more comprehensive understanding of the present.
Focus on Global Inequality: A significant portion of research within this framework analyzes global economic inequality, examining its drivers, consequences, and potential solutions. This often involves exploring the relationships between developed and developing nations, the impact of globalization, and the role of international institutions in addressing global disparities.
Key Figures and Influential Works:
While assigning a singular "Berkeley School" label is an oversimplification, several scholars have significantly shaped the field. Notable figures include:
Robert Reich: Known for his work on globalization and income inequality, Reich's contributions have heavily influenced policy debates on economic fairness and the role of government in mitigating inequality. His books, such as "Saving Capitalism," directly reflect the core principles of Berkeley political economy.
Amartya Sen (although not strictly "Berkeley", his influence is profound): Sen's work on capabilities and well-being has had a profound impact on development economics and social justice discussions worldwide. His concept of capabilities – the ability to achieve valuable functionings – provides a crucial framework for assessing economic development beyond simple measures of income.
Dani Rodrik: Rodrik's work focuses on the tension between globalization and national sovereignty, offering critical analyses of international trade agreements and their impact on developing countries. His research highlights the complexities of balancing economic integration with national policy autonomy.
Real-World Applications and Case Studies:
The principles of Berkeley political economy find application in various real-world contexts:
Antitrust Regulation: Understanding the power dynamics within industries and the potential for monopolies to stifle competition requires a framework that transcends purely economic models. Berkeley's approach, emphasizing institutional analysis and historical context, informs more effective antitrust policies aimed at promoting fair competition.
Development Economics: Understanding development challenges requires going beyond simple economic growth indicators. The Berkeley focus on inequality, power structures, and institutional capacity provides a richer understanding of the complexities of development and promotes more effective interventions. For example, analyzing land tenure systems and their impact on agricultural productivity in developing countries directly draws upon these principles.
Climate Change Policy: Addressing climate change requires a multi-faceted approach that considers economic, political, and social factors. Berkeley's interdisciplinary approach helps integrate these factors, promoting policy solutions that address both environmental sustainability and economic equity.
The Limitations of a Purely Market-Based Approach
A purely market-based approach often fails to adequately address issues like market failures, information asymmetry, and externalities. Berkeley political economy, by incorporating institutional and historical analysis, provides a more robust framework for understanding these limitations and designing effective policy interventions. For example, the 2008 financial crisis clearly demonstrated the inadequacies of a purely free-market approach, highlighting the need for robust regulation and oversight – a point strongly emphasized within the Berkeley framework.
The Role of Globalization in Shaping Inequality
Globalization, while presenting opportunities for economic growth, has also contributed to increased income inequality both within and between nations. Berkeley scholars extensively examine the complex relationship between globalization and inequality, analyzing the impact of trade liberalization, foreign investment, and international institutions on the distribution of wealth and resources. Research often points to the need for policies that mitigate the negative consequences of globalization while harnessing its potential benefits for equitable development.
(Insert a chart here comparing income inequality levels before and after significant globalization periods in specific countries. Data sources should be cited.)
Conclusion:
The Berkeley political economy approach, while not without its critics, provides a valuable framework for understanding the intricate interplay between politics and economics. Its emphasis on power structures, institutions, historical context, and global inequality offers a more comprehensive and nuanced perspective than traditional economic models. By integrating insights from various disciplines, it equips policymakers and researchers with the tools to design effective policies that promote both economic efficiency and social justice. Its continued influence on policy debates and academic discourse underscores its enduring relevance in navigating the complex challenges of the 21st century.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
- Is Berkeley political economy a specific school of thought with a formal curriculum? No, it's more of a broad intellectual tradition represented by diverse scholars and research approaches rather than a formalized curriculum.
- How does Berkeley political economy differ from other schools of economic thought (e.g., neoclassical economics)? It differs by explicitly considering power dynamics, institutions, history, and social justice, while neoclassical economics often focuses primarily on individual rationality and market mechanisms.
- What are some criticisms of the Berkeley political economy approach? Some criticisms include its potential for being overly normative (prescribing policy solutions), its complexities making it less accessible to non-experts, and potential biases in research depending on the researcher's political leanings.
- How can I learn more about Berkeley political economy? Explore the research publications of scholars mentioned in this article, delve into relevant journals (e.g., World Development, American Political Science Review), and explore course offerings at Berkeley and similar universities.
- How is Berkeley political economy impacting policy decisions today? Its influence is evident in debates surrounding inequality, globalization, climate change, and financial regulation, shaping policy discussions and the formulation of solutions at national and international levels.
| berkeley political economy: The Princeton Encyclopedia of the World Economy. (Two volume set) Kenneth A. Reinert, Ramkishen Rajan, Amy Joycelyn Glass, Lewis S. Davis, 2010-08-02 An essential reference to all facets of the world economy Increasing economic globalization has made understanding the world economy more important than ever. From trade agreements to offshore outsourcing to foreign aid, this two-volume encyclopedia explains the key elements of the world economy and provides a first step to further research for students and scholars in public policy, international studies, business, and the broader social sciences, as well as for economic policy professionals. Written by an international team of contributors, this comprehensive reference includes more than 300 up-to-date entries covering a wide range of topics in international trade, finance, production, and economic development. These topics include concepts and principles, models and theory, institutions and agreements, policies and instruments, analysis and tools, and sectors and special issues. Each entry includes cross-references and a list of sources for further reading and research. Complete with an index and a table of contents that groups entries by topic, The Princeton Encyclopedia of the World Economy is an essential resource for anyone who needs to better understand the global economy. More than 300 alphabetically arranged articles on topics in international trade, finance, production, and economic development International team of contributors Annotated list of further reading with each article Topical list of entries Full index and cross-references Entry categories and sample topics: Concepts and principles: globalization, anti-globalization, fair trade, foreign direct investment, international migration, economic development, multinational enterprises Models and theory: Heckscher-Ohlin model, internalization theory, New Trade Theory, North-South trade, Triffin dilemma Institutions and agreements: European Union, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, World Bank, Doha Round, international investment agreements Policies and instruments: dollar standard, international aid, sanctions, tariffs Analysis and tools: exchange rate forecasting, effective protection, monetary policy rules Sectors and special issues: child labor, corporate governance, the digital divide, health and globalization, illegal drugs trade, petroleum, steel |
| berkeley political economy: The American Political Economy Jacob S. Hacker, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Paul Pierson, Kathleen Thelen, 2021-11-11 Drawing together leading scholars, the book provides a revealing new map of the US political economy in cross-national perspective. |
| berkeley political economy: The Populist Temptation Barry J. Eichengreen, 2018 Populism, a political movement with anti-elite, authoritarian and nativist tendencies, typically spearheaded by a charismatic leader, is an old phenomenon but also a very new and disturbing one at that. The Populist Temptation is an effort to understand the wellsprings of populist movements and why the threat they pose to mainstream political parties and pluralistic democracy has been more successfully contained in some cases than others-- |
| berkeley political economy: Marketcraft Steven Kent Vogel, 2018 Marketcraft argues that markets do not arise spontaneously but rather are crafted by individuals, firms, and most of all by governments. Thus marketcraft represents a core function of government comparable to statecraft. Vogel systematically reviews the implications of this argument, critiquing prevalent schools of thought and presenting innovative lessons for policy. |
| berkeley political economy: Handbook of Latin American Studies , 1989 Contains scholarly evaluations of books and book chapters as well as conference papers and articles published worldwide in the field of Latin American studies. Covers social sciences and the humanities in alternate years. |
| berkeley political economy: Meeting Globalization's Challenges Luís Catão, Maurice Obstfeld, 2019-11-05 In the US, in Europe, and throughout the world, globalization, in tandem with technological progress, has left a massive number of people behind, feeling dispossessed, disenfranchised, and angry. Leading the charge of hyperglobalization during the second half of the last century, and enforcing the Western framework of austerity in the developing world has been the International Monetary Fund. Along with the World Bank and WTO, many consider the IMF one of the most consequential institutions to have pushed the world economy blindly towards excessive globalization, while not adequately considering its powerful negative consequences. In October 2017, however, the IMF convened with some of the world's most celebrated economists and experts on trade and globalization to have an honest discussion on the most pressing concerns the world faces today as a result of globalization, and how to address the extensive challenges it has created. Edited by chief economist Maurice Obstfeld and senior economist Luis Catao of the IMF, the book brings together a team of respected senior economists with the most promising younger scholars to address five major themes: how globalization affects economic growth and social welfare; potential political implications of an honest discussion of globalization, and that free trade may not be politically viable; free trade's role in global inequality; how workers adjust or not when they're dislocated by globalization; and how trade policy influences the way countries develop their economies and societies. The book could represent a historic milestone at which the world's top economists and policymakers have an unprecedented, honest debate about the real costs and consequences of globalization-- |
| berkeley political economy: Corruption and Reform in India Jennifer Bussell, 2012-03-26 Why do some governments improve public services more effectively than others? Through the investigation of a new era of administrative reform, in which digital technologies may be used to facilitate citizens' access to the state, Jennifer Bussell's analysis provides unanticipated insights into this fundamental question. In contrast to factors such as economic development or electoral competition, this study highlights the importance of access to rents, which can dramatically shape the opportunities and threats of reform to political elites. Drawing on a sub-national analysis of twenty Indian states, a field experiment, statistical modeling, case studies, interviews of citizens, bureaucrats and politicians, and comparative data from South Africa and Brazil, Bussell shows that the extent to which politicians rely on income from petty and grand corruption is closely linked to variation in the timing, management and comprehensiveness of reforms. |
| berkeley political economy: Transition and Economics Gérard Roland, 2000 The transition from socialism to capitalism in former socialist economies has transformed the economic structure. This book provides an overview of research on the issues raised by the shift from collective to private ownership. |
| berkeley political economy: The Politicized Market Economy Michael Barzelay, 2023-04-28 This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1986. |
| berkeley political economy: American Taxation, American Slavery Robin L. Einhorn, 2008-05-15 For all the recent attention to the slaveholding of the founding fathers, we still know remarkably little about the influence of slavery on American politics. American Taxation, American Slavery tackles this problem in a new way. Rather than parsing the ideological pronouncements of charismatic slaveholders, it examines the concrete policy decisions that slaveholders and non-slaveholders made in the critical realm of taxation. The result is surprising—that the enduring power of antigovernment rhetoric in the United States stems from the nation’s history of slavery rather than its history of liberty. We are all familiar with the states’ rights arguments of proslavery politicians who wanted to keep the federal government weak and decentralized. But here Robin Einhorn shows the deep, broad, and continuous influence of slavery on this idea in American politics. From the earliest colonial times right up to the Civil War, slaveholding elites feared strong democratic government as a threat to the institution of slavery. American Taxation, American Slavery shows how their heated battles over taxation, the power to tax, and the distribution of tax burdens were rooted not in debates over personal liberty but rather in the rights of slaveholders to hold human beings as property. Along the way, Einhorn exposes the antidemocratic origins of the popular Jeffersonian rhetoric about weak government by showing that governments were actually more democratic—and stronger—where most people were free. A strikingly original look at the role of slavery in the making of the United States, American Taxation, American Slavery will prove essential to anyone interested in the history of American government and politics. |
| berkeley political economy: The Color of America Has Changed Mark Brilliant, 2010-10-21 From the moment that the attack on the problem of the color line, as W.E.B. DuBois famously characterized the problem of the twentieth century, began to gather momentum nationally during World War II, California demonstrated that the problem was one of color lines. In The Color of America Has Changed, Mark Brilliant examines California's history to illustrate how the civil rights era was a truly nationwide and multiracial phenomenon-one that was shaped and complicated by the presence of not only blacks and whites, but also Mexican Americans, Japanese Americans, and Chinese Americans, among others. Focusing on a wide range of legal and legislative initiatives pursued by a diverse group of reformers, Brilliant analyzes the cases that dismantled the state's multiracial system of legalized segregation in the 1940s and subsequent battles over fair employment practices, old-age pensions for long-term resident non-citizens, fair housing, agricultural labor, school desegregation, and bilingual education. He concludes with the conundrum created by the multiracial affirmative action program at issue in the United States Supreme Court's 1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke decision. The Golden State's status as a civil rights vanguard for the nation owes in part to the numerous civil rights precedents set there and to the disparate challenges of civil rights reform in multiracial places. While civil rights historians have long set their sights on the South and recently have turned their attention to the North, advancing a long civil rights movement interpretation, Mark Brilliant calls for a new understanding of civil rights history that more fully reflects the racial diversity of America. |
| berkeley political economy: The Political Economy of Mountain Java Robert W. Hefner, 2023-09-01 A rich and sensitive portrait of a changing peasantry, this study is also a general inquiry into the nature of status, class, and community in the developing world. Robert Hefner presents an analysis designed to bridge the gap between village studies and social history. He describes the forces that have shaped upland politics and society from pre-colonial times to the Green Revolution today. A rich and sensitive portrait of a changing peasantry, this study is also a general inquiry into the nature of status, class, and community in the developing world. Robert Hefner presents an analysis designed to bridge the gap between village studies and |
| berkeley political economy: The Global Transformation of Time Vanessa Ogle, 2015-10-12 This book is a revisionist account of attempts to unify clock times, calendars, and social time, and a methodological intervention in discussions about writing global and transnational history. The book uses the reform of time between 1870 and 1950 as a lens through which to understand the dynamics of globalization. Based on research in archives around the world in multiple languages, individual chapters take the story of uniform time to France and Germany, Britain, the British Empire/German colonies/Latin America, British India, Arab elites in the Levant, Muslim scholars in Egypt, and to the League of Nations. The author shows how cross-border flows of ideas and concepts of uniform time resulted in a nationalization and regionalization of temporal identities. As a consequence, uniform, accurate clock time remained nonstandardized, unstable, and incomplete as late as the 1930s and 1940s. Calendar reform, just as vivid and vast a field of activism as clock time, never came to pass altogether due to strong national and religious objections to a uniform World Calendar. When ideas about uniform time moved across borders and continents, they often did so along lateral, informal trajectories of transmission. Local initiatives often preceded national time politics. Top-down attempts to devise time reform schemes at international conferences, to implement them nationally, and assure application in the most remote local contexts rarely succeeded. Rather, globalization disheveled such hierarchies of the international, the national, and the local. The book, then, emphasizes the importance of nationalism and states as well as attention to scale in writing the history of global flows and connections-- |
| berkeley political economy: Learning While Governing Sean Gailmard, John W. Patty, 2012-12-06 Although their leaders and staff are not elected, bureaucratic agencies have the power to make policy decisions that carry the full force of the law. In this groundbreaking book, Sean Gailmard and John W. Patty explore an issue central to political science and public administration: How do Congress and the president ensure that bureaucratic agencies implement their preferred policies? The assumption has long been that bureaucrats bring to their positions expertise, which must then be marshaled to serve the interests of a particular policy. In Learning While Governing, Gailmard and Patty overturn this conventional wisdom, showing instead that much of what bureaucrats need to know to perform effectively is learned on the job. Bureaucratic expertise, they argue, is a function of administrative institutions and interactions with political authorities that collectively create an incentive for bureaucrats to develop expertise. The challenge for elected officials is therefore to provide agencies with the autonomy to do so while making sure they do not stray significantly from the administration’s course. To support this claim, the authors analyze several types of information-management processes. Learning While Governing speaks to an issue with direct bearing on power relations between Congress, the president, and the executive agencies, and it will be a welcome addition to the literature on bureaucratic development. |
| berkeley political economy: Precolonial Legacies in Postcolonial Politics Martha Wilfahrt, 2022-12-22 West Africa's precolonial kingdoms left behind social norms and identities that affect elite behavior and subnational development today. |
| berkeley political economy: Power and German Foreign Policy Beverly Crawford, 2007-09-28 What will German foreign policy look like in 2015? This book dares to speculate by making a provocative argument: what drives German foreign policy is its power position in Europe and on the international stage. By examining German manoeuvres in the Balkans, its role in European Monetary Union, and its leadership in curbing Europe's proliferation of WMD technology, Crawford shows how German power is linked to its embedded hegemony in Europe and the changing state of its economy. Together these forces shape German foreign policy. |
| berkeley political economy: Built to Last Erik Berglöf, 2003 Annotation. The European Constitutional Convention offers a historical opportunity to rethink and to improve the governance and organization of the European Union. At stake is Europe's political architecture: the form that government takes and the allocation of responsibilities between the member states and supranational bodies. Many reform proposals have already been offered to the Convention. This Report provides a method for evaluating those options, developing an analytical framework derived from recent developments in the theory of positive political economy. On this basis the authors conclude that a presidential system of governance is likely to be best adapted to Europe -- and specifically to the need to expand the competency of the EU in the areas of internal and external security (Europe's Second and Third Pillars). In a full-blown presidential system, the Commission would have well-defined executive powers, specified by the Council, and a president elected by the citizens of Europe. The European executive would be subject to checks and balances by both the Council and the European Parliament. But political realism excludes adopting such a solution in the short run. The authors therefore propose an evolutionary strategy: the election of the Commission president by a college of country representatives appointed in the short run by national parliaments, leaving the option open to individual countries to allocate their votes for the presidency via universal suffrage. This solution would preserve the option of moving to a fully-fledged presidential model sometime in the future, while providing enhanced democratic legitimacy from the start. In general, the Constitution should be long on principles and general rules and short on details so as to allow Europe's governance to evolve within an unchanged Constitution. Book jacket. |
| berkeley political economy: The New Geography of Jobs Enrico Moretti, 2012 Makes correlations between success and geography, explaining how such rising centers of innovation as San Francisco and Austin are likely to offer influential opportunities and shape the national and global economies in positive or detrimental ways. |
| berkeley political economy: The Common Good Robert B. Reich, 2019-01-15 Robert B. Reich makes a powerful case for the expansion of America’s moral imagination. Rooting his argument in common sense and everyday reality, he demonstrates that a common good constitutes the very essence of any society or nation. Societies, he says, undergo virtuous cycles that reinforce the common good as well as vicious cycles that undermine it, one of which America has been experiencing for the past five decades. This process can and must be reversed. But first we need to weigh the moral obligations of citizenship and carefully consider how we relate to honor, shame, patriotism, truth, and the meaning of leadership. Powerful, urgent, and utterly vital, this is a heartfelt missive from one of our foremost political thinkers. |
| berkeley political economy: The Political Economy of Inequality Frank Stilwell, 2019-05-10 During the last few decades, the gap between the incomes, wealth and living standards of rich and poor people has increased in most countries. Economic inequality has become a defining issue of our age. In this book, leading political economist Frank Stilwell provides a comprehensive overview of the nature, causes, and consequences of this growing divide. He shows how we can understand inequalities of wealth and incomes, globally and nationally, examines the scale of the problem and explains how it affects our wellbeing. He also shows that, although governments are often committed to ‘growth at all costs’ and ‘trickle down’ economics, there are alternative public policies that could be used to narrow the gap between rich and poor. Stilwell’s engaging and clear guide to the issues will be indispensable reading for all students, general readers and scholars interested in inequality in political economy, economics, public policy and beyond. |
| berkeley political economy: Winner-Take-All Politics Jacob S. Hacker, Paul Pierson, 2010-09-14 A groundbreaking work that identifies the real culprit behind one of the great economic crimes of our time— the growing inequality of incomes between the vast majority of Americans and the richest of the rich. We all know that the very rich have gotten a lot richer these past few decades while most Americans haven’t. In fact, the exorbitantly paid have continued to thrive during the current economic crisis, even as the rest of Americans have continued to fall behind. Why do the “haveit- alls” have so much more? And how have they managed to restructure the economy to reap the lion’s share of the gains and shift the costs of their new economic playground downward, tearing new holes in the safety net and saddling all of us with increased debt and risk? Lots of so-called experts claim to have solved this great mystery, but no one has really gotten to the bottom of it—until now. In their lively and provocative Winner-Take-All Politics, renowned political scientists Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson demonstrate convincingly that the usual suspects—foreign trade and financial globalization, technological changes in the workplace, increased education at the top—are largely innocent of the charges against them. Instead, they indict an unlikely suspect and take us on an entertaining tour of the mountain of evidence against the culprit. The guilty party is American politics. Runaway inequality and the present economic crisis reflect what government has done to aid the rich and what it has not done to safeguard the interests of the middle class. The winner-take-all economy is primarily a result of winner-take-all politics. In an innovative historical departure, Hacker and Pierson trace the rise of the winner-take-all economy back to the late 1970s when, under a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress, a major transformation of American politics occurred. With big business and conservative ideologues organizing themselves to undo the regulations and progressive tax policies that had helped ensure a fair distribution of economic rewards, deregulation got under way, taxes were cut for the wealthiest, and business decisively defeated labor in Washington. And this transformation continued under Reagan and the Bushes as well as under Clinton, with both parties catering to the interests of those at the very top. Hacker and Pierson’s gripping narration of the epic battles waged during President Obama’s first two years in office reveals an unpleasant but catalyzing truth: winner-take-all politics, while under challenge, is still very much with us. Winner-Take-All Politics—part revelatory history, part political analysis, part intellectual journey— shows how a political system that traditionally has been responsive to the interests of the middle class has been hijacked by the superrich. In doing so, it not only changes how we think about American politics, but also points the way to rebuilding a democracy that serves the interests of the many rather than just those of the wealthy few. |
| berkeley political economy: Who's Bashing Whom? Laura D'Andrea Tyson, 1993 Governments around the world? This volume answers these questions on the basis of detailed and rigorous case studies of trade disputes between the United States, Japan, and Europe in aircraft, semiconductors, supercomputers, telecommunications, and other electronics products. Tyson proposes a cautious activist policy agenda to promote US competitiveness in high-technology sectors and to strengthen multilateral rules governing high-technology trade. |
| berkeley political economy: Embedded Autonomy Peter B. Evans, 2012-01-12 In recent years, debate on the state's economic role has too often devolved into diatribes against intervention. Peter Evans questions such simplistic views, offering a new vision of why state involvement works in some cases and produces disasters in others. To illustrate, he looks at how state agencies, local entrepreneurs, and transnational corporations shaped the emergence of computer industries in Brazil, India, and Korea during the seventies and eighties. Evans starts with the idea that states vary in the way they are organized and tied to society. In some nations, like Zaire, the state is predatory, ruthlessly extracting and providing nothing of value in return. In others, like Korea, it is developmental, promoting industrial transformation. In still others, like Brazil and India, it is in between, sometimes helping, sometimes hindering. Evans's years of comparative research on the successes and failures of state involvement in the process of industrialization have here been crafted into a persuasive and entertaining work, which demonstrates that successful state action requires an understanding of its own limits, a realistic relationship to the global economy, and the combination of coherent internal organization and close links to society that Evans called embedded autonomy. |
| berkeley political economy: It's the Political Economy, Stupid Gregory Sholette, Oliver Ressler, 2013-02-19 It's the Political Economy, Stupid brings together internationally acclaimed artists and thinkers, including Slavoj Žižek, David Graeber, Judith Butler and Brian Holmes, to focus on the current economic crisis in a sustained and critical manner. Following a unique format, images and text are integrated in a visually stunning bespoke production by activist designer Noel Douglas. What emerges is a powerful critique of the current capitalist crisis through an analytical and theoretical response and an aesthetic-cultural rejoinder. By combining artistic responses with the analysis of leading radical theorists, the book expands the boundaries of critique beyond the usual discourse. It's the Political Economy, Stupid argues that it is time to push back against the dictates of the capitalist logic and, by use of both theoretical and artistic means, launch a rescue of the very notion of the social. |
| berkeley political economy: Information, Accountability, and Cumulative Learning Thad Dunning, Guy Grossman, Macartan Humphreys, Susan D. Hyde, Craig McIntosh, Gareth Nellis, 2019-07-11 Throughout the world, voters lack access to information about politicians, government performance, and public services. Efforts to remedy these informational deficits are numerous. Yet do informational campaigns influence voter behavior and increase democratic accountability? Through the first project of the Metaketa Initiative, sponsored by the Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP) research network, this book aims to address this substantive question and at the same time introduce a new model for cumulative learning that increases coordination among otherwise independent researcher teams. It presents the overall results (using meta-analysis) from six independently conducted but coordinated field experimental studies, the results from each individual study, and the findings from a related evaluation of whether practitioners utilize this information as expected. It also discusses lessons learned from EGAP's efforts to coordinate field experiments, increase replication of theoretically important studies across contexts, and increase the external validity of field experimental research. |
| berkeley political economy: Mutant Neoliberalism William Callison, Zachary Manfredi, 2019-11-05 Tales of neoliberalism’s death are serially overstated. Following the financial crisis of 2008, neoliberalism was proclaimed a “zombie,” a disgraced ideology that staggered on like an undead monster. After the political ruptures of 2016, commentators were quick to announce “the end” of neoliberalism yet again, pointing to both the global rise of far-right forces and the reinvigoration of democratic socialist politics. But do new political forces sound neoliberalism’s death knell or will they instead catalyze new mutations in its dynamic development? Mutant Neoliberalism brings together leading scholars of neoliberalism—political theorists, historians, philosophers, anthropologists and sociologists—to rethink transformations in market rule and their relation to ongoing political ruptures. The chapters show how years of neoliberal governance, policy, and depoliticization created the conditions for thriving reactionary forces, while also reflecting on whether recent trends will challenge, reconfigure, or extend neoliberalism’s reach. The contributors reconsider neoliberalism’s relationship with its assumed adversaries and map mutations in financialized capitalism and governance across time and space—from Europe and the United States to China and India. Taken together, the volume recasts the stakes of contemporary debate and reorients critique and resistance within a rapidly changing landscape. Contributors: Étienne Balibar, Sören Brandes, Wendy Brown, Melinda Cooper, Julia Elyachar, Michel Feher, Megan Moodie, Christopher Newfield, Dieter Plehwe, Lisa Rofel, Leslie Salzinger, Quinn Slobodian |
| berkeley political economy: In the Shadow of the Rising Sun Christian Henriot, Wen-hsin Yeh, 2004-04-12 Publisher Description |
| berkeley political economy: Illustrations Of Political Economy Harriet Martineau, 1833 |
| berkeley political economy: Currency Politics Jeffry A. Frieden, 2014-12-28 A comprehensive analysis of the politics surrounding exchange rate policies in the global economy—with in-depth case studies. The exchange rate is the most important price in any nation’s economy, and a central factor in the global economy. Despite the critical role of exchange rate policy, there are few definitive explanations of why governments choose the currency policies they do. In Currency Politics, Jeffrey Frieden combines narrative and statistical investigation to offer an enlightening analysis of exchange rate policies around the world. Many industries seek to influence politicians on currency policy. Frieden shows how each industry’s characteristics—including its exposure to currency risk and the price effects of exchange rate movements—determine their policy preferences. Frieden then evaluates the accuracy of his theoretical arguments in a variety of historical and geographical settings. He looks at the politics of the gold standard, particularly in the United States, and he examines the political economy of European monetary integration. Frieden also analyzes the politics of Latin American currency policy over the past forty years, and focuses on the daunting currency crises that have frequently debilitated Latin American nations, including Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. |
| berkeley political economy: Policing China Suzanne E. Scoggins, 2021-06-15 In Policing China, Suzanne E. Scoggins delves into the paradox of China's self-projection of a strong security state while having a weak police bureaucracy. Assessing the problems of resources, enforcement, and oversight that beset the police, outside of cracking down on political protests, Scoggins finds that the central government and the Ministry of Public Security have prioritized stability maintenance (weiwen) to the detriment of nearly every aspect of policing. The result, she argues, is a hollowed out and ineffective police force that struggles to deal with everyday crime. Using interviews with police officers up and down the hierarchy, as well as station data, news reports, and social media postings, Scoggins probes the challenges faced by ground-level officers and their superiors at the Ministry of Public Security as they attempt to do their jobs in the face of funding limitations, reform challenges, and structural issues. Policing China concludes that despite the social control exerted by China's powerful bureaucracies, security failures at the street level have undermined Chinese citizens' trust in the legitimacy of the police and the capabilities of the state. |
| berkeley political economy: The Politics of Innovation Mark Zachary Taylor, 2016 Why are some countries better than others at science and technology? Written in accessible language, The Politics of Innovation provides readers from all backgrounds with a useful survey of the innovation debate. It presents extensive evidence to show that national institutions and policies do not determine innovation rates, but politics do. |
| berkeley political economy: Export Empire Stephen G. Gross, 2015 A major new interpretation of Nazi influence in southeastern Europe through the concepts of soft power and informal empire. |
| berkeley political economy: Berkeley at War, the 1960s W. J. Rorabaugh, 1989 Annotation Presents an invaluable account of its time and place, anchoring the sixties in American history, both before and since that colorful decade. |
| berkeley political economy: The Political Economy of Natural Gas Ferdinand E. Banks, 1987-01-01 |
| berkeley political economy: Irish Political Economy. By J. Swift ... and George Berkeley. [Consisting of A Short View of the State of Ireland, and A Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish Manufacture, by J. Swift; and Extracts from the Querist, by G. Berkeley.] ... Edited by John Mitchel Jonathan Swift, 1847 |
| berkeley political economy: Illustrations of Political Economy Harriet Martineau, 1833 |
| berkeley political economy: Exciting the Industry of Mankind George Berkeley’s Philosophy of Money C.G. Caffentzis, 2013-04-17 Exciting the Industry of Mankind is the first comprehensive book about George Berkeley's revolutionary views on money and banking. Berkeley broke the conceptual link between money and metallic substance in The Querist, a work published between 1735 and 1737 in Dublin, consisting entirely of questions. Exciting the Industry of Mankind explains what economic and social forces caused Berkeley to write The Querist in response to a major economic crisis in Ireland. Exciting the Industry of Mankind falsifies the view that Berkeley has nothing to tell us about our present and future social and economic life. For the `idealism' Berkeley found in the money form is now becoming a fact of global economic life, when `xenomoney' and `virtual money' exchanges begin to dwarf commodity transactions, and the future becomes the dominant temporal dimension of economic activity. Philosophers, historians, cultural theorists, economists and lovers of Irish history will be interested in this volume. |
| berkeley political economy: Utilitarianism and the Art School in Nineteenth-Century Britain Malcolm Quinn, 2015-10-06 The mid-nineteenth century saw the introduction of publicly funded art education as an alternative to the established private institutions. Quinn explores the ways in which members of parliament applied Bentham’s utilitarian philosophy to questions of public taste. |
| berkeley political economy: Women and Philanthropy in Education Andrea Walton, 2005-02-15 This book illuminates the philanthropic impulse that has influenced women's education and its place in the broader history of philanthropy in America. Contributing to the history of women, education, and philanthropy, the book shows how voluntary activity and home-grown educational enterprise were as important as big donors in the development of philanthropy. The essays in Women and Philanthropy in Education are generally concerned with local rather than national effects of philanthropy, and the giving of time rather than monetary support. Many of the essays focus on the individual lives of female philanthropists (Olivia Sage, Martha Berry) and teachers (Tsuda Umeko, Catharine Beecher), offering personal portraits of philanthropy in the 19th and 20th centuries. These stories provide evidence of the key role played by women in the development of philanthropy and its importance to the education of women. Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies -- Dwight F. Burlingame and David C. Hammack, editors |
| berkeley political economy: Comparative Politics Daniele Caramani, 2008 'Comparative Politics' provides a comprehensive introduction to political systems around the world. It covers methods and theories; the nation-state; institutions; actors and processes; policies; and recent changes. |
