Book Description
This exciting text provides students with a superior grounding in contemporary international political economy. It emphasizes current scholarship and provides the background in politics, economics, and history that students need to understand the contemporary global economy.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Shipping Time and High Quality Book.......2007-10-21
The book was in great condition and arrived only in a few days, which was ideal for since classes were starting!
readable textbook.......2007-02-14
This textbook was easy to read (not overly technical and used a lot of real-world analogies). An instuctor or professor who requires this text is probably taking a practical approach to the course, which typically means it will be more interesting to learn about the subject matter. The text is only in paperback and not particularly durable for backpack toting- buy used if possible.
Just great.......2007-01-10
First the book appears to be full of ideas without a touch of reality or just theoretical, but after reading the first and second chapter and after understanding the principles of econ 101/102, everything will make sense. There is so much to learn in this book and, the good thing, it is not boring.
I have to say that it was the best political econ book I've ever read, and I do recommend it for beginners.
gives an understanding of the many forms of globalisation.......2006-09-28
Oatley provides a readable, non-mathematical description of international economics since World War 2. The book will give the reader a good grounding in understanding globalisation. Not as something to be feared or tamed, but as arising from fundamental trends that are effectively impossible to reverse.
Oatley certainly talks about more than just globalisation. Like managing exchange rates. But even here, it is discussed in the context and reality of a world where immense pools of capital are often highly mobile. This is not typically thought of by the general public as globalisation. But the text shows that capital flow across national boundaries is indeed another aspect of globalisation, that has become common in the last 20 years.
coherent and concise.......2006-05-05
Oatley has a way of boiling down complex concepts into short, pithy chapters. The writing is clear and concise and the examples used in the text provide interesting perspectives on current political issues such as the US budget deficit or the power dynamics in debt negotiations between powerful international creditors (IMF, World Bank) and debtor countries. The chapters are well structured--with introductions and conclusions that really help draw out the key points of the chapter. I found that this book provided coherent theories with which I could better understand material from other political science and economics classes. Overall, I highly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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Similar Items:
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
-
Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
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Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Book Description
This is the revised and expanded edition of the most sought-after guide for everyone seeking grants: nonprofits, state and local governments, universities, school administrators, teachers, artists, and those seeking funds for scholarly and cultural enterprises. Written by two authors who have won millions of dollars in grants — and updated to include vital information and advice accumulated since The Only Grant-Writing Book You’ll Ever Need first appeared — this new edition provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for grant writers, demystifying the process while offering indispensable advice from funders and grant recipients. It includes the following.
• Guidance on developing a realistic, cost-effective, collaborative program
• Concrete suggestions (with practice exercises and examples) for approaching each section of a grant so that the proposal is absolutely clear to the funder
• A glossary of terms with any word, phrase, or concept a grant writer may need, plus fifty tips for writing a winning proposal
• Funders roundtables put you inside the minds of the people who award grants
Customer Reviews:
Grant-Writing book recommendation.......2007-09-11
This book is very well-organized, presenting the information in a step-by-step manner that makes it manageable for neophyte would-be grant-writers. I have no doubt that it will serve me well as a continuing resource even as I gain skills and experience.
Helped me through my class!.......2007-05-14
I used this book for a grant writing class I've taken and found it to be a great guide. It's written well and very user friendly. This is definately a book that I'll keep and use through the years when it comes to writing future grants! The resources in the back are helpful and it's fun taking the quizzes and realizing how much I know. Good book...worth buying.
More for organizations than individuals.......2007-04-05
It more geared towards someone writing for grants for a non-profit as opposed to artist/business grants.
Outstanding Guideline.......2007-01-10
Outstanding guideline for anyone needing advice and direction
in regards to writing proposals. Also shows how to present your
group or organization in the best light.
I enjoyed this book.............2006-11-14
This was the first grant-writing book I ever purchased. It has been some time indeed. This is a quality book, but it doesn't provide alot of sources for funding. I would suggest Government Funding and You for a more complete view. But I would very strongly suggest this book.
Book Description
It is widely believed that current disparities in economic, political, and social outcomes reflect distinct institutions. Institutions are invoked to explain why some countries are rich and others poor, some democratic and others dictatorial. But arguments of this sort gloss over the question of what institutions are, how they come about, and why they persist. This book seeks to overcome these problems, which have exercised economists, sociologists, political scientists, and a host of other researchers who use the social sciences to study history, law, and business administration.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-05-24
This is one of the best examples of the analytical study of institutions in history. Highly recommended for courses in political economy and institutional analysis.
Original and engaging.......2007-05-18
This original book draws into historical studies to illustrate the evolution of economics institutions. The application of economics, history and game theory is very creative and a definitely achievement of the book, in the tradition of North's "Understanding the Process of Economic Change" or other recent followers like Acemoglou's "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and democracy".
The book is divided in four main sections and 14 chapters. First, the author explains institutions as systems in equilibria, applying history and game theory. Then, he enlightens institutional dynamics as historical process (focusing on endogenous change or how history affects institutions and cultural beliefs) only to conclude with a method to apply in sociological and historical studies.
This is a seminal work and Greif's is able to clarify how market institutions work and evolve, how control and oversight institutions are created and how this questions relate to economic history and theory. Moreover, he illustrates them with real examples, like the evolution of medieval trade. It is a careful, readable and historical approach to economic development, applying economic and game theory to explain institutional patterns and change. Interesting!
Institutions and the Path to the Modern Economy .......2006-03-25
This is a very good book of historic institutionism, It deserves possession.
Book Description
This book is a guide to the key elements of successful fund raising, explaining the profession's major principles, concepts, and techniques.
Customer Reviews:
A must read for everyone involved in fund raising.......1999-09-25
The late Henry Rosso, one of fund raising's all time great teachers and practitioners, gets to the heart and soul of fund raising as he clearly presents the basic techniques. His love for philanthropy and his respect and admiration for donors is infectious.
Very good. Inspiring and practical guide for set up........1999-05-26
Rosso and Associates have created a book to inspire those who find themselves in a relatively undefined fundraising position. The book provides a conceptual framework from which to view fundraising as, aside from the mission, the most vital aspect of a not-for-profit organisation. You can approach this book from an absolute beginner level or from an experienced fundraising background looking for a little inspiration and back-up. The book is, understandably, quite grounded in American law and culture so its direct application to other countries is limited.
Book Description
For more than a century and a half, the most-powerful national governments have created institutions of multilateral governance that promise to make a more inclusive world, a world serving women, working people, the colonized, the 'backward,' the destitute and the despised. This book is a study of that promise and the real impact of this world government.
Global Institutions, Marginalization, and Development discusses what systems of global institutions have done, and what they have not done, to keep their promise to the truly disadvantaged. It examines whether the system will serve the world's least advantaged, or marginalize them further.
The future will largely be determined by the understanding of the global political economy developed by the world's most powerful people-corporate leaders and government officials in the strongest states. Their worldviews, in turn, will be influenced both by the political action and the ideas of social movements and by the views of those who study the global political economy. Whether it is the 'economists and political philosophers' or the social movements of the disadvantaged that are most likely to influence the world's lawmakers and the processes by which they will complete the next generation of multilateral institutions are the central topic of this book.
Key content includes:
· World Organizations and Human Needs
· Liberal Internationalism
· Social Movements and Liberal World Orders
· Political Consequences of the New Inequality
· Leadership and Global Governance for the information age
· Marginalization and the Privileged
This book is important reading for anyone with an interest in international political economy, global governance, development and the politics of north & south.
Average customer rating:
|
The Enlargement of the European Union and NATO: Ordering from the Menu in Central Europe
Wade Jacoby
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
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Countries and Concepts: Politics, Geography, Culture (9th Edition)
ASIN: 0521833590 |
Book Description
In 2004 the European Union and NATO each added ten new member states, most from the post-communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe. In order to qualify for membership, these countries had to make a myriad of changes. They often emulated practices common in Western Europe, sometimes resulting in more effective and efficient institutions, sometimes resulting in failures. Wade Jacoby examines the trends in various fields and in several countries.
Amazon.com
Birth of the Chaordic Age is a compelling manifesto for the future, embedded within the intriguing story of a personal odyssey. An engaging narrator, Dee Hock is the man who first conceived of a global system for the electronic exchange of value, becoming the founder and CEO of VISA International. He looks critically at today's environment of command-and-control institutions and sees organizations that are falling apart, failing to achieve their own purposes let alone addressing the diversity and complexity of society as a whole. The solution, Hock claims, lies in transforming our notion of organization; in embracing the belief that the chaos of competition and the order of cooperation can and do coexist, succeed, even thrive; and in welcoming in the chaordic age.
The underlying tenets of Hock's ideas are well illustrated by the incredible story of the birth of VISA International, an organization formed on chaordic principles that now links in excess of 20,000 financial institutions, 14 million merchants, and 600 million consumers in 220 countries. Hock deplores an age where ingenuity and effort are wasted on circumventing the rules and regulations of insular, hierarchical bureaucracies. In a bold-type subtext interspersed throughout the book, he examines how this situation is stunting our potential as individuals and communities and contemplates what can be changed. This rumination is propelled onward by "Old Monkey Mind" (Hock's own thoughts). Though the technique allows the reader to engage in stimulating mental discovery along with the author, its New Age spiritual tone is sometimes a bit saccharine. His insights, however, are clear and provocative. In the Chaordic Age, he contends, "success will depend less on rote and more on reason; less on the authority of the few and more on the judgment of many; less on compulsion and more on motivation; less on external control of people and more on internal discipline." Hear, hear. --S. Ketchum
Book Description
In Birth of the Chaordic Age, Dee Hock argues that traditional organizational forms can no longer work because organizations have become too complex. Hock advocates a new organizational form that he calls "chaordic, " or simultaneously chaotic and orderly. He credits the worldwide success of VISA with its chaordic structure -- it is owned by its member banks which both compete with each other for customers and must cooperate by honoring one another's transactions across borders and currencies. The book shows how these same chaordic concepts are now being put into practice in a broad range of business, social, community, and government organizations.
Customer Reviews:
Nature teaches us how to get organised.......2007-04-11
Dee Hock spend much time contemplating while being in nature, to which he felt strongly connected. Therefor it came as no surprise that he decided to organise his company, VISA International, following the structures of nature. The resulting enterprise showed flexibility and ingenuity, being able to rapidly respond to changing circumstances. The people it attracted grew a strong sense of responsibility and pride in their contributions. The interconnectedness and mutual trust laid a solid base for creativity and daring. Given the circumstances all were leaders at times and followers at others. A shared passion or spirit of relevance drove them further, growing VISA to a multi trillion business in the process. A beautiful example what can happen if we align ourselves with the forces of nature.
quick service, book in exceptional shape.......2005-08-31
not much to say other than the service was prompt and the book arrived in excellent condition.
More of a personal story than clear vision of chaordic orgs.......2005-03-26
Dee Hock is a man with a rich history. He relates a large part of that personal history in Birth of the Chaordic Age even though, he claims, this is not a story about him, nor about VISA International, although both figure prominently in the tale. The book is not so much a story at all, but a passionate manifesto for the future of business and society as a whole. If almost anyone else had written a book of such grand - perhaps grandiose - pretensions, we would quickly dismiss them. But Hock is known as the founder and former CEO of VISA International. He explains that he founded the organization on "chaordic principles". This business now connects over 20,000 financial institutions, 14 million merchants, and 600 million consumers in 220 countries. That's a compelling argument for allowing the man to speak.
Hock's book is a masterfully written broadside against the dominance of today's command-and-control institutions. He is far from alone in the outlines of his historical perspective. According to this, over the last three centuries we have increasingly sought to structure society according to reductionism, specialization, more technology, more efficiency, more linear education and processes, and more hierarchical command and control. The goal has been to create an organization in which leaders can pull a lever and reliably produce a desired result.
Hock goes further than most who share this perspective when he talks of the "dominator organizations" that have ordered resources and people so as to produce large quantities of uniform goods. Instead of the expected results, claims Hock, what we have produced is "obscene maldistribution of wealth and power, a crumbling ecosphere, and collapsing societies." This apocalyptically gloomy view may be trendy, but has only a passing resemblance to reality. (For a brief alternative view, see "The Truth About the Environment", related to this review.) Readers need not share Hock's assessment of today in order to learn from, agree with, and help to implement his alternative vision of chaordic organizations - those that are simultaneously chaotic and orderly.
The positive vision expounded on in Birth of the Chaordic Age sees organizations of the future as being the embodiment of community, based on shared purpose calling to the higher aspirations of people. Hock puts this general description into more specific form by explaining how a chaordic organization is formed by attending to six elements in the proper order: Purpose, Principles, People, Concept, Structure and Practice.
Hock claims that VISA was formed according to this description - the unusual organization is owned by its member banks, which combine competition for customers with cooperation by honoring each other's transactions across borders and monetary systems. If this is true, then you may persist in reading the book for its vision, despite some annoying peccadilloes, such as Hock's talk of "Old Monkey Mind" (his rational thoughts).
One of the best books on life and business I have read.......2005-02-22
I have two regrets after reading it. One that I can't give it more than 5 stars, and that I did not read it a long time ago. I read this book to learn more about Hock's views on complexity and organization, what he describes as a "chaordic system." While I met that purpose, I also discovered much more.
The personal narrative about failure and disappointment before Hock's leadership in the creation of VISA is something I needed to read years ago before I went through frustrating set-backs in my own career for related reasons.
What's more, Hock's understanding and recommendations for harnessing the power of complex systems is brilliant. If you could read only one book on leadership and complexity, I would strongly encourage this book to be it.
Part of what I find so amazing is that Hock is able to express a great deal of cutting edge philosophy and social science thinking as he tells a business story.
Read this book and share the ideas within with others!
A Fascinating Man, a Fascinating Story & a Bit of Frustratio.......2005-02-07
This is a book that is fascinating and frustrating by turns. It's about one of the most fascinating and effective and least written-about business executives in the world, Dee Hock.
Hock is the founder and CEO Emeritus of Visa. Visa is an organizational form unlike anything anyone had ever seen or, for that matter since. It combined the efforts of organizations that were normally at each other's competitive throats. But that's not all.
In the process of getting Visa to work, Hock and the other folks that he worked with, also managed to create the payment system that is Visa. To realize how big an achievement this is, consider the fact that the check-clearing system in the Federal Reserve still does not work with a fraction of the efficiency of the Visa-approval and payment-clearing process.
I'd known about Dee Hock for years, and I was fascinated by him and by the process that must have gone into establishing, actually inventing, Visa. I snatched up this book when it came out hoping that it would contain the story of Hock and the Visa adventure. It did. That story is compelling and well written.
But there's more to this book than that story, and the "more" includes lots of bits of value and many bits of frustration.
Take the title. Birth of the what Age? "Chaordic." Try looking that up in the dictionary. It's not there. Do we need a brand-new word to describe what Hock is describing? Maybe, but I'm not sure.
I'm quite sure I don't need some of the other strange things that he does with language in the book. There is, for example, "Thee Ancient One." That turns out to be a tractor. Then there's "old monkey mind."
Old monkey mind is the term that Hock uses in several different ways throughout the book. Sometimes it's used to refer to logical, linear, left side of the brain. Sometimes it's used to refer to old thinking patterns. Sometimes it seems to be a kind of alter ego for Hock with whom he has conversations.
That kind of language is cute but it's more appropriate to a book of whimsy. Here it gets in the way of understanding. And there's a lot here to understand.
Whatever else Dee Hock is, he is certainly one of the most fascinating intellects that I've come across. He's clearly a man of principle. He's had an amazing life, starting from poverty, rising to heights of business where he created one of the great financial institutions in the history of the planet. Then he walked away from that achievement with less ongoing compensation than Jack Welch's apartment rentals. Hock's mind is supple and rich and dips into sources that span time and geography and cultures.
Hock's life and the story of Visa are fascinating, and it pulls us along, but there's real meat in his observations about organizations and how they work and how they ought to work. There are penetrating insights into the ways that organizations have an impact on the Planet, on the economy, and on individual lives. There are insights and observations about what it means to be human.
In the end, I think this is really two books. One book is a story that goes from start to finish. It's the story of Dee Hock. It's the story of Visa. It's a fascinating story, filled with lessons and examples. It's worth buying the book that's between the cover for.
Then there's the other book that is a collection of bits of observation and thought. They're not presented in a coherent way, just plopped down into the story in separate chapters throughout the book. This is a book with less organization and more random insights. It, too, is interesting and worth the price of the book.
In the end, you can get two books - both wonderful, for the price of one.
Book Description
This book argues that the dramatic post-1970 rise in international capital mobility has not systematically contributed to the retrenchment of developed welfare states as many claim. Nor has globalization directly reduced the revenue-raising capacities of governments and undercut the political institutions that support the welfare state. Rather, institutional features of the polity and the welfare state determine the extent to which the economic and political pressures associated with globalization produce Welfare state retrenchment.
Download Description
This book argues that the post-1970 rise in international capital mobility has not contributed to the retrenchment of developed welfare states. Nor has globalization reduced the revenue-raising capacities of governments and undercut the political institutions that support the welfare state. Rather, institutional features of the polity and the welfare state determine the extent to which the economic and political pressures associated with globalization produce welfare state retrenchment. In systems characterized by electoral institutions, social corporatist interest representation and policy-making, centralized political authority, and social insurance-based program structures, pro-welfare state interests are favored. In nations characterized by majoritarian electoral institutions, pluralist interest representation and policy-making, decentralization of policy-making authority, and liberal program structure, the economic and political pressures attendant on globalization are translated into rollbacks of social protection. Globalization has had least impact on large welfare states of Northern Europe and most effect on small welfare states of Anglo nations.
Book Description
Is economic development conducive to political democracy? Does democracy foster or hinder material welfare? These two questions are examined by looking at the experiences of 135 countries between 1950 and 1990. Descriptive information, statistical analyses, and historical narratives are interwoven to gain an understanding of the dynamic of political regimes and their impact on economic development. The often surprising findings dispel any notion of a tradeoff between democracy and development. Economic development does not generate democracies, but democracies are much more likely to survive in wealthy societies.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting Work.......2004-06-16
I had a love/hate relationship with this book. First, and this is purely a stylistic point, I believe it could have been far better edited. It was an avalanche of statistics, statistical analyses, and presented results without a lot of discussion of why relationships emerged. Their first goal -- showing development does not "cause" democratization is, I believe, a revamp of earlier published work. It is, nonetheless, an important finding that is worth repeating.
More interesting is the relationship between dictatorships and demography, but, again, aside from a little theorizing and a few statistical tests I believe the authors do little to shed much light on why different regimes affect demography differently. They begin to flesh out an argument the crux of which revolves around the ability of democratic polities to "commit" to providing social welfare over the long run, but this seems to run counter to their initial dismissal earlier in the book of the Neo-Institutional economics claim put forth by Douglass North, among others, as to the importance of institutions in "binding the hands of the sovereign."
Finally, their results do show that democracies tend to survive in wealthy states, in essence becoming "unkillable" after a certain level of wealth is reached. They do little to really explain why this is, but the result gives credence to Lipset's thesis that devolpment, at the very least, helps sustain democracies.
Overall I liked to book and would reccommend it as an assigned book in a comparative politics/political economy class.
Monumental Work!!!.......2001-04-24
Too many conjectures and too many theories have been addressed concerning the relationship between polities and material well-being in the world. But they have been raised without a proper test of them, without empirics. This book completely cleans all kinds of intellectual garbages, clarifies the existing arguments, and above all provides a series of the sohpisticated tests. Adam Przeworski and his comrades did a marvelous job.
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