The Political Economy of China's Dramatically Improved Coal Safety Record

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Tim Wright

Abstract China's coal safety has improved dramatically since 2003. This article will present the official data and conclude that it is almost impossible that the figures conceal a situation where there has not been remarkable improvement. Structural factors including China's level of economic development, changes in the labour market and the economic health of the industry have played an important role, but state commitment and policies have been central at least to the speed and magnitude of the improvement.

Author(s):  
Javier González

The chapter analyses the political economy of inequality in Chile from a historical perspective, highlighting the need to use a holistic institutional approach in order to unravel persistent structural inequalities. It examines the power of elites to shape formal rules to their advantage, studying the income distribution of the top 1 per cent and the key characteristics of the Chilean tax system. This institution is analysed for its centrality to the distributive class struggle of a society. The analysis shows that Chile’s income concentration at the top 1 per cent is extremely high, even when compared to OECD countries when the latter had the same level of economic development as Chile today. Therefore, the levels of inequality in Chile cannot be fully explained by market forces, as the neoclassical approach suggests, nor by Chile’s level of economic development; instead, data suggest the existence of an ‘institutional lag’ (exemplified by the current tax system), sustained by asymmetries of power.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Falih Suaedi ◽  
Muhmmad Saud

This article explores in what ways political economy as an analytical framework for developmental studies has contributed to scholarships on Indonesian’s contemporary discourse of development. In doing so, it reviews important scholarly works on Indonesian political and economic development since the 1980s. The argument is that given sharp critiques directed at its conceptual and empirical utility for understanding changes taking place in modern Indonesian polity and society, the political economy approach continues to be a significant tool of research specifically in broader context of comparative politics applied to Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia. The focus of this exploration, however, has shifted from the formation of Indonesian bourgeoisie to the reconstitution of bourgeois oligarchy consisting of the alliance between the politico-bureaucratic elite and business families. With this in mind, the parallel relationship of capitalist establishment and the development of the state power in Indonesia is explainable.<br>


Author(s):  
Micheál L. Collins ◽  
Mary P. Murphy

The political economy of Irish work and welfare has dramatically changed over recent decades. Since the 1980s, Ireland has experienced two periods of high unemployment followed by two periods of full employment. Alongside this, we see considerable shifts in both the sectoral composition of the workforce and in the institutional architecture underpinning the labour market. Focusing on the last decade, this chapter contextualizes the Irish labour market in the Irish growth model, highlighting issues including occupational upgrading, low pay, gender composition, and migration. The chapter then explores links between this employment structure and Ireland’s changing welfare regime. It considers recent institutional changes, as the welfare regime shifted to a work-first form of activation, and the long-term sustainability of the social protection system. The chapter concludes by highlighting what we see as the core challenges for the political economy of work and welfare in Ireland.


Author(s):  
Gerard Sasges

When A.R. Fontaine arrived in Tonkin in 1886, he was quick to see the potential of applying new technologies to a traditional industry, and to grasp the importance of state protection for the success of his fledgling enterprise. From modest origins, he built a business empire that included everything from distilleries to coal mines to bicycle factories. Fontaine’s was one of the colonial conglomerates that played a central role in the economy’s “Indochinese moment,” introducing new technologies and familiarizing Indochinese with new ways of working, consuming and being. However, the downturn that began in Indochina in 1928 exposed the weakness of many of these enterprise groups. When A.R. Fontaine was forced to step down as President of the SFDIC in 1932, it signified the start of a new era of economic development directed not from Hanoi or Saigon, but rather from Paris.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-325
Author(s):  
Yinxing Hong

PurposeThe socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics reflects the characteristics of ushering into a new era, and the research object thereof shifts to productive forces. Emancipating and developing productive forces and achieving common prosperity become the main theme. Wealth supersedes value as the fundamental category of economic analysis.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical system of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics cannot proceed from transcendental theories but is problem-oriented. Leading problems involve development stages and research-level problems.FindingsThe economic operation analysis is subject to the goal of optimal allocation of resources with micro-level analysis focused on efficiency and macro-level analysis focused on economic growth and macroeconomic stability also known as economic security. The economic development analysis explores the laws of development and related development concepts in compliance with laws of productive forces. The new development concepts i.e. the innovative coordinated green open and shared development drive the innovation of development theory in political economy.Originality/valueAccordingly, the political economy cannot study the system only, but also needs to study the problems of economic operation and economic development. Therefore, the theoretical system of the political economy tends to encompass three major parts, namely economic system, economic operation and economic development (including foreign economy). The basic economic system analysis needs to understand the relationship between public ownership and non-public ownership, between distribution according to work and factor payments, and between socialism and market economy from the perspective of coexistence theory, thus transforming institutional advantage into governance advantage.


Author(s):  
Sotiria Theodoropoulou

This chapter introduces the questions that the book addresses. It explains the rationale and motivation of the book with reference to the existing literature on welfare state change and the political economy thereof, as well as within the context of recent policy developments. It then justifies the empirical approach and explains in more detail the rationale behind the selection of national case studies.


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