Over the past two decades, many welfare states have experienced a combination of low economic growth and rising unemployment, concurrent with increasing pension and health care obligations, which has exacerbated government budget deficits. Some analysts forecast that for a number of welfare states these problems will worsen in the future. Their fiscal problems, in particular, present welfare state policy makers with the dilemma of attempting to fund redistribution schemes consistent with the ideal of a secure egalitarian society while at the same time remaining competitive in a 'new...

This volume brings together original and timely writings by internationally renowned scholars that reflect on the current trajectories of global capitalism and, in the light of these, consider likely, possible or desirable futures. Essays focus to varying degrees on developing distinctive theoretical frameworks and using them to clarify both the history of the present political economy and how progressive political economic trends might be extended from the present into the future. A distinctive feature of the collection is its effort to develop new mediations between theory and history, a...

Since ancient times the exercise of individual freedoms has been inseparable from the expansion of the market, driven by the search for profit. This force, namely capitalism, has stimulated human creativity and aggression in ways that have produced immense benefits. As capitalism has broadened its scope in the epoch of globalization, these benefits have become even greater. Human beings have been liberated to an even greater degree than hitherto from the tyranny of nature, from the control of others, from poverty and from war. The advances achieved by the globalization of capitalism have...

No one has challenged the policies of the international financial community as profoundly as Joseph Stiglitz, the former Chief Economist of the World Bank. In controversial speeches made around the world, Stiglitz has undone the conventional wisdom that dominated policy-making at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the US Treasury Department.

For the first time, Stiglitz's nine most revealing speeches have been gathered together, covering such topics as the failure of shock therapy and transition economics, the limits of capital market liberalization, the myopia of...

China is becoming ever more deeply integrated with global political economy. This book addresses critical issues in this process. The author examines the paradox of the global market economy that is presided over by 70 million members of the Chinese Communist Party, and analyses China's policy of 'innovation in an open environment', attempting to nurture a group of globally competitive, large-scale companies.

In addition, the book analyses the challenges that China's political economy faces in the twenty-first century, identifying the way in which China is attempting to resolve...

Democratization is a field where unexpected and sudden events have repeatedly challenged conventional wisdom. For example, who in the mid-1970s would have foreseen the democratization of Cambodia, Albania, South Africa or East Timor? Our current 'wave' of democratization is complex and diverse and understanding it requires a variety of theoretical approaches.

Most of the literature on democracy assumes that it is the best form of government. Theoretical works on democratic transition and democratization have also emphasized the internal conflict resolution capacity of democracy. It...

After almost twenty-five years of experimenting with the neo-liberal economic reforms collectively known as 'Washington Consensus' policies, Latin Americans are starting to re-assess the merits of these policies - at the voting booth. Many newly elected governments are beginning to scrutinize the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in particular, and some nations have gone so far as to nationalize foreign firms. Without endorsing or condoning the actions taken by these governments, this volume demonstrates that it is quite rational for governments in the region to re-evaluate the role...

The pace of growth in the Philippines is slower than that of many neighbouring countries, and despite increasing growth in the period before the current global financial crisis, domestic investment remained weak, and had a declining share in gross domestic product. Understanding limits to growth in the Philippines' economy and how they may be counteracted is crucial for policy makers seeking to encourage economic development.

'Diagnosing the Philippine Economy' investigates the binding constraints on economic development, by following a growth diagnostics approach. Articles within...