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In this article, we show the historical development of different conceptions of political economy, criticizing the hegemonic pretention of neoclassical economics, and highlighting what we call the "new political economy": the study of the social, political and moral constitution of the economy in history. We describe this interpretation's current disciplinary insertion in political science, and offer two analytical keys to orient future investigations. Finally, we survey recent works in Latin America that echo this interpretation, especially the revisions of the 'political economy of policy reform' literature and the widening of studies on varieties of capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the implications of the persistence of traditional patterns of state organization by examining the relationship between property rights and the economy for monarchies and republics. We argue that, relative to republics, monarchies protect property rights to a greater extent by reducing the negative effects of internal conflict, executive tenure, and executive discretion. In turn, a better protection of property rights results in greater standards of living. Using panel data on 137 countries between 1900 and 2010, we formulate and test a model with endogenous variables. We find strong evidence that monarchies contribute to a greater protection of property rights and higher standards of living through each of the three theoretical mechanisms compared to all republics. We also find that democratic-constitutional monarchies perform better than non-democratic and absolute monarchies when it comes to offsetting the negative effects of the tenure and discretion of the executive branch. We discuss the implications of the persistence of traditional patterns of political authority and rule for political sociology and economic sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effects of trade openness and political regimes on energy intensity, using the case of Ghana in sub‐Saharan Africa. The study adopts the Stock–Watson dynamic OLS to deal with the problems of endogeneity and serial correlation. The findings reveal that while openness reduces energy intensity, democracy increases it. The latter result can be attributed to the existence of pressure interest groups, rent‐seeking behaviour, high corruption, regulatory failures and the lack of coordination that characterize Ghana's democratic governance. Further results reveal a significant role for the price of energy in terms of reducing energy intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a response to Antto Vihma’s article ‘Geoeconomic Analysis and the Limits of Critical Geopolitics: A New Engagement with Edward Luttwak’. Taking issue with Vihma’s critique of the limits of critical geopolitics, it argues that it is instead the use of economic strategies in statecraft – Vihma’s state-centric vision of geoeconomics inspired by Edward Luttwak – that is really better understood as limited. To map these limitations, it is necessary to attend to three specific limits: first, the limits of conceptualising geoeconomics in simply instrumental terms as a tool of statecraft; second, the limits of capital and specifically the ways in which the geographical limits created by the on-going tensions between spatial fixity and spatial expansion in capitalism are refracted through the on-going entanglements of geopolitics and geoeconomics; and third, the limits of personal positionality and the emotional fears, hopes, dreams and passions that influence geostrategic discourse more generally. Reflecting on Donald J. Trump’s ascendancy to the US presidency, the paper concludes that it is now more necessary than ever to address how all these force-fields intersect to overdetermine the limits of economic strategy in statecraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Chile's entry into the international economy, the performance of the national economy and institutional change during the 1810-1830s. It argues that the country consolidated a successful process of entry into the expanding world economy. GDP per capita was poor, but alternative indicators suggest a more optimistic picture (e.g., agricultural, copper and silver production increased, population grew and terms of trade improved). Furthermore, there were some positive institutional developments. All these changes made possible the sustained growth that took place from the 1830s and must be seen as more important than the growth record itself during the 1810-1820s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political economy theory expects politicians to use budget deficits to engineer an election-timed boom, known as the political business cycle. We challenge and contextualize this view by incorporating the financial constraints faced by governments into an electoral framework. We argue theoretically that the extent of ownership dispersion among creditors has important effects for governments’ policy autonomy. Specifically, we contend that when highly indebted governments become more reliant on international bond markets—as opposed to traditional bank lending—politicians alter the way they respond to domestic constituents. In an econometric test of 16 Latin American countries, from 1961 to 2011, we show that financial decentralization breeds austerity. More specifically, we find that politicians exhibit more fiscal discipline when they fund a greater share of their spending through decentralized bond markets. Furthermore, we find this disciplining effect to be particularly strong during election periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on political renewal in Laos after the Tenth Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, in which the adoption of the five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan, and the election of the Party Central Committee are explored. Topics discussed include efforts to address the rise of the so-called "princelings," changes in the eleven-member Politburo, and efforts to preserve the status quo amid leadership changes.

In the wake of a dramatic political change, such as the so-called “Arab Spring”, the associated ramifications on the stock markets, especially the regional ones, are questionable. This study examines the impact of the Arab spring on the returns and volatility of a financial market in a stable neighboring country. Specifically, we contribute to the extant literature by investigating the spillover effect of the regional turmoil on Dubai Financial Market (DFM). Due to the domino-effect-like political changes, a major Arab Spring event is defined by the shocking regime change in Egypt during the period between the departure of the former and long-lasted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on February 11th, 2011, and conducting the parliamentary elections there on November 30th, 2011. Both the volatility and returns of DFM are examined around the identified period. We employ the daily returns of seven indices at DFM for the period between January 1st, 2008 and December 31st, 2012 using GARCH model to analyze the effects of Arab Spring sparking in the region on volatility and returns. Moreover, we use Event Study method to examine the effect of the dramatic political change on the stock market returns. The findings of the study reveal that the volatility of the overall DFM has not been impacted except for two indices at DFM; Transportation and Telecommunications. The results remain robust when TGARCH model is run. Further, the Event Study results suggest that the Arab Spring has not affected the returns of any of the DFM indices during the above period since both the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) and the cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR) are insignificant. There are implications to the regulators, the current and potential international and local investors and portfolio managers who are interested in DFM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several political developments in South Australia (SA) between July 2015 and December 2015. The SA government's responses to the Australian state's economic problems are examined, along with the region's unemployment rate and the work of SA's Premier Jay Weatherill and Liberal Party of Australia member and opposition leader Steven Marshall. The death of former Australian Labor Party member and SA Premier John Bannon. Submarine construction plans are also assessed.

El artículo discurre sobre la relación entre la democracia y la justificación económica. El autor comenta sobre las diferencias entre las economías democráticas, como los Estados Unidos y Gran Bretaña; y las economías comunistas, como China. También se considera el rol del gobierno en las economías nacionales.

In the study of the development of political institutions, scholars now working with the historical institutionalist approach are putting into their analytical frameworks concepts such as time, contexts, political coalitions and ideas. Their interest is to try to connect them in case studies intended to understand and explain stability and change in political life. The latter two dimensions are not conceived apart from institutional development, since the mechanisms that promote stability are the same that generate change. Inquiries inspired by the key ideas of historical institutionalism could be enriched by the contributions of discursive institutionalism, a new institutionalist research program that emphasizes the influence of ideas (discourse and communication) on institutional development. For discursive institutionalism institutions change by the impact of ideas, both for their substantive content and for the interactive process of discourse. Policy coordination, communication and deliberation that accompanies public activity have a discursive dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a country comparative case based methodology that combines the methods of Cluster Analysis and Qualitative Comparative Analysis, this article examines whether there is any quantitative evidence that countries which are members of the euro currency have experienced a convergence of the outputs and outcome of the European welfare state for euro member countries. The analysis concludes there is little evidence of a holistic euro based convergence of either welfare outputs or outcome. It is argued that outputs such as full employment, equity of health care provision, poverty reduction and educational attainment might reasonably be expected to converge in the longer term, but only if the euro crisis results in a much more planned and coordinated interventionist policy approach to the macro political economy. An outcome, however, such as subjective well-being, is potentially influenced by other historical and cultural factors and is only partially determined by macro political economic policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both countries and subnational governments commonly engage in competition for mobile capital, offering generous incentives to attract investment. Existing economics research has suggested that these tax incentives have a limited ability to affect investment patterns and are often excessively costly when measured against the amount of investment and jobs created. In this paper, we argue instead that the 'competition' for capital can be politically beneficial to incumbent politicians. Building off work on electoral pandering, we argue that incentives allow politicians to take credit for firms' investment decisions. We test the empirical implications of this theory using a nationwide Internet survey, which employs a randomized experiment to test how voters evaluate the performance of incumbent US governors. Our findings illustrate a critical political benefit of offering such incentives. Politicians can use these incentives to take credit for investment flowing into their districts and to minimize the political fallout when investors choose to locate elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of politics to the refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. It highlights the adequacy of humanitarian assistance of the Australian government for resettling the refugees through a managed programme in the country. It also cites the increase ability of the refugees to gain admission to the refugee resettlement programme in the country.

El artículo discurre sobre el desarrollo económico en Colombia durante el periodo entre 1906-2009. El autor comenta sobre las políticas económicas promulgadas, las cuales enfocaron en las industrias domésticas. También se considera la colaboración entre el gobierno colombiano y estas industrias.

El artículo discurre sobre la relación entre el crecimiento económico, la desigualdad y la pobreza en el mundo del siglo 21. El autor comenta sobre la falta de políticas económicas dedicadas a la población pobre, incluyendo la redistribución del ingreso y la reducción de la pobreza absoluta. También se considera la importancia de tanto el desarrollo como el crecimiento económico.

El artículo discurre sobre el uso de modelos teóricos en las finanzas y en la economía. El autor comenta sobre los beneficios así como las características peligrosas de utilizar estos modelos. También se considera la relación entre la filosofía económica y la política y se describen las implicaciones de la aplicación de modelos económicos en el mundo real.

The Indian economy suffered a balance of payment crisis in 1991, which provided the context for the rolling out of neoliberal policies, also referred to as the New Economic Policy in India. This paper examines the national and global causes and context of India's economic crisis and adoption of neoliberal policies. While grounding my analysis in historical-geographical materialism, I argue that India's economic crisis was a product of certain contingent conditions. I draw attention to India's pre-neoliberal economic regime and analyse how the earlier-established relationship between revenue generation and expenditure ran into trouble; what changes occurred in the organization and management of revenues and capital; nature of interventions of the state in the circulation of capital; changes in the physical aspects of circulation of commodities, together with foreign trade and the formation of the 'world market'; and the rise of the United States as the only global superpower. I conclude that India's economic crisis of 1990-91, and the neoliberal policies that followed, are products of contingent historical and geographical conditions. A teleological approach towards examining global capitalism and production of economic crisis often neglect such contingencies and provide a set of causalities that may, at best, be classified as incomplete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Andean Community has become the oldest integration process in South America, has repeatedly expressed the same crisis. In this sense, through these pages develop the main grounds on which the Andean integration process does not produce the desired effects. For purposes of the foregoing, it is considered that even though the core of any economic integration process, the causes that hinder the CAN are legal and political. This statement implies that the crisis of that International Organization due to the lack of legal and political capacity of member countries to behave in the ambience of an integration process. In the first part of this article will set because we believe that the crisis is due to factors CAN legal and political order, and subsequently develop the main causes hindering the Andean integration process, ruling out an economic analysis on the issue. This article is the product of a job analysis that aims to explore a particular topic or aspect of the Andean integration process, such as the crisis has shown that process. The type of research work used for these pages is synthetic, that is, is to show the entire contents of a subject or issue stating its main and essential parts. At the same time and under the above research work mode, these pages are limited to a scientific work typified in the form of "states of mater", that is, work which collects scientific research situation of a particular subject at a particular time. Additionally, the method used for this research is analytical, that part of the complex, reaching as simple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In studies of China’s economic rise and political system, multiyear comprehensive and sectoral plans issued by the national government tend to be played down as futile efforts at reigning in a political economy increasingly driven by market incentives and decentralized decisions. Contrary to this, we provide evidence that China’s planning system has been transformed alongside the economic transition, yet remains central to almost all domains of public policy making and the political institutions that have fostered China’s high-speed growth and economic stability. The incorporation of experimental programs into macro-plans, a tiered hierarchy of policy oversight, newly introduced mid-course plan evaluations, and systematic top-level policy review have allowed Chinese planners to play a central role in economic policy making without succumbing to the rigidity traps that debased traditional planned economies. By better understanding how the planning cycle influences incentives and resources of successive layers of bureaucracies and jurisdictions, and how it updates itself and adapts to new challenges, it is possible to explain a greater proportion of the Chinese policy-making process, including many of its successes and pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that South America’s ‘revolutionary’ left turn can be best explained by its assertion of state property over natural resource extraction. The recent history of the leftist movements in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador relates to the failures of the neoliberal reforms applied in the region decades before, hence the dismantling of core orthodox policies has been critical for them once in power. This has been possible through the expansion of state action in the economy, but mainly through the governance of hydrocarbon extraction and the control of subsoil rents. Resource extraction has been central to the political economy of Andean left-wing revolutionaries, responsible for many of their successes but also their impending challenges. This rearticulation of underground governance is linked to global transformations that give prominence to emerging economies and reinforces these countries’ position in the world economy as providers of primary commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article focuses on the idea that intervention in the labour market through the suspension of labour rights and freedoms, fear and a fall in purchasing power all played a key role in achieving political and economic objectives in the regimes of Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin. However, in each of these cases, the success of this policy was not as had been expected. These European experiences were essential for the configuration of the labour framework in the Franco dictatorship. The iron-fisted control of the labour market came to Spain through legal texts and institutions that were in many cases a blatant copy of those applied in Italy and Germany. In spite of the ideological distance between them, we can also find some common traits with Stalin's labour policies. The results obtained were even worse for Spain, and the negative effects on the economy were more serious, due to the greater longevity of the Spanish dictatorship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article provides an account of rent-seeking in relation both to economic policies and political practices in South Africa. The article draws attention to continuities and similarities in this regard between the two distinct periods of nationalist rule from 1948 to 1994 and from 1994 to 2012. The economic dimensions that are specifically addressed are industrial policy, the labour market, state administration and tenders and service delivery and welfare. The more specifically political dimensions addressed include the electoral system, the relationship between constitutionalism and the judiciary, and the rule of law. The article highlights the dangers posed by excessive rent-seeking and especially its negative implications for redistribution, economic growth and the consolidation of democracy in a highly unequal society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sub-Sahara African countries have had a checkered past when it comes to good governance and institutions. Increasingly, economists and policy makers are recognizing the importance of governance and institutions for economic growth and development. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has four main goals: eradicating poverty, promoting sustainable growth and development, integrating Africa into the world's economy, and accelerating the empowerment of women. Using fixed and random effects, and Arellano-Bond models, this paper investigates the role of governance in explaining the sub-optimal economic growth performance of African economies. Our results suggest that good governance or lack thereof, contributes to the differences in growth of African countries. Furthermore, our results indicate that the role of governance on economic growth depends on the level of income. In a nutshell, our results demonstrate that without the establishment and maintenance of good governance, achieving the goals of NEPAD will be hampered in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En 1935 muchos países ricos sufrían una depresión económica profunda, caracterizada por un desempleo masivo y por un alto índice de deflación. En Suecia, por el contrario, el retroceso había sido menor y la recuperación más rápida, lo cual suscitaba en aquel entonces un interés considerable, como cabe imaginar. Bertil Ohlin, que con anterioridad había preparado informes sobre la depresión mundial y el desempleo en Suecia (y que más tarde recibió el Premio Nobel de Economía), analiza en el artículo que presentamos a continuación las causas de la recuperación de este país. En resumidas cuentas, Suecia había aplicado un modelo keynesiano antes de Keynes, en parte gracias a la contribución de Ohlin al análisis de la política macroeconómica. La clave fue una combinación de flexibilidad del tipo de cambio, de política monetaria encaminada a bajar los tipos de interés real y a alentar la inversión, de política fiscal expansionista con empréstitos públicos para financiar déficits sustanciales, de obras públicas productivas y de políticas estatales de apoyo a la agricultura, combinación que contribuyó a reducir el desempleo, a aumentar la inversión y a evitar que los ingresos disminuyeran de forma importante. Ohlin examina en el artículo las medidas capaces de contrarrestar los problemas de empleo y desempleo, y afirma que es muy importante que el Estado y las administraciones locales tengan preparada una política económica adecuada que aplicar en caso de necesidad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why have carbon markets been rapidly adopted as policy solutions to climate change in the last decade? Perhaps surprisingly, this question has attracted virtually no attention in the large literature on such markets. The standard arguments given for why carbon markets are good ways to respond to climate change do not explain why such markets have flourished as governance mechanisms in relation to climate. Carbon markets have spread and become taken-for-granted because of the potential they give to certain powerful actors (financiers, specifically) to create new cycles of investment, profits and growth. As a consequence, they make possible a political coalition combining financiers with environmentalists. This coalition has considerable potential to legitimize substantial cuts in carbon emissions in the face of continued opposition from other interests. It is the combination of these two elements – the promotion of specific growth sectors and the construction of a political coalition – that constitutes the principal political virtue of carbon markets. In order to demonstrate this claim, the history of emissions trading is traced and the implication of this analysis is explored for the further building of climate governance centred on carbon markets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

El desarrollo local no es solo una estrategia política-institucional, o no lo es exclusivamente, sino que es el resultado de la multiplicidad de acciones del conjunto de actores (económicos, sociales, políticos, culturales, tecnológicos y otros) que operan y toman decisiones en el territorio o, que sin estar localizados en el territorio, inciden en él. Los procesos de desarrollo local como todo proceso genuino han de insertarse en las condiciones histórico concretas de cada comunidad, propiciando el verdadero desarrollo que es aquel que sitúa al hombre no solo como actor sino como centro y finalidad única de este proceso en todas sus dimensiones: económicas, políticas, sociales, culturales, espirituales, en síntesis como un proceso multidimensional y complejo. Esto nos plantea la necesidad de repensar el Desarrollo Local con cabeza propia, es decir desde la perspectiva de nuestro país socialista, subdesarrollado y latinoaméricano. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este segundo artículo aborda la problemática económica, ideológica y política de América Latina luego del triunfo de la Revolución Cubana, cuyo victorioso ejemplo incentivó todas las formas de lucha en la región. Hitos en la evolución del subcontinente, tras la epopeya del Che, fueron las novedosas concepciones de la Unidad Popular de Allende y las consecuencias del triunfo sandinista, que evidenciaron los falsos postulados de la Alianza para el Progreso y pusieron en crisis la aparente fortaleza del fascismo-militar. Luego se analiza el fracaso neoliberal en Argentina y el nuevo ascenso popular ejemplificado en la Revolución Bolivariana así como en el proceso integrador del ALBA, cuyo primer peldaño se alcanzó con el anuncio del trascendental acuerdo entre Venezuela y Cuba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic analysts try to find an answer to the growth process of the country in the last 20 years obviously one of the defenses that have allowed this situation is political stability and global economic dynamics countries pulled by locomotives, constantly demanding raw materials and creating a very positive scenario for the steady increase in their prices, and there is also a historical explanation based on the long waves of economic growth in Peru. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]