Class and Conflict

In 1984, Pranab Bardhan published his classic work The Political Economy of Development in India. It went on to become one of the most influential references on the political economy of development in the pre-reform period of independent India. Class and Conflict reflects on the enduring influence of Bardhan’s original publication in the context of post-liberalization developments in India. Drawing on their own world-leading research, the contributors to this volume engage with a wide range of issues, such as whether big business dominates India today, how subsidies retard economic growth, and how the middle classes are transforming politics. Together they try to answer the big question: what has really changed in the political and economic climate of the country over the last 30 years? Exploring the continuities and changes that have characterized India’s political economy since 1984, this volume takes stock of the main challenges of India’s economic development today. It contributes to current debates on economic growth, crony capitalism, agrarian crisis, the politics of class and caste, and the role of the state in a liberalizing economy.

Author(s):  
Ilke Civelekoglu ◽  
Basak Ozoral

In an attempt to discuss neoliberalism with a reference to new institutional economics, this chapter problematizes the role of formal institutions in the neoliberal age by focusing on a specific type of formal institution, namely property rights in developing countries. New institutional economics (NIE) argues that secure property rights are important as they guarantee investments and thus, promote economic growth. This chapter discusses why the protection of property rights is weak and ineffective in certain developing countries despite their endorsement of neoliberalism by shedding light on the link between the institutional structure of the state and neoliberalism in the developing world. With the political economy perspective, the chapter aims to build a bridge between NIE and political economy, and thereby providing fertile ground for the advancement of NIE.


Author(s):  
Stephen L. Elkin

This article describes the connection between political theory and political economy. It argues that political theorists need to take account of political economy in theorizing about the contemporary world because capitalism is the most powerful force at work in shaping the modern sociopolitical world. It also explains that economic questions concerning economic growth, the distribution of wealth and income, and role of markets are at the core of the political life in democratic societies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78
Author(s):  
Benni Yusriza

Employing the concept of unfree labor, this article explores the role of the state in reinforcing victims’ vulnerability and shaping the political economy of trafficking practices. Based on a case study of trafficking victims in Benjina and Ambon, Maluku Province, Indonesia, I argue that Indonesian authorities’ intervention was driven not by humanitarian interest, nor by the concern for the protection of migrant workers’ rights, but rather by the intent to advance a political and economic agenda against the Thai fishing industry. Consequently, the intervention ignored the exploitative relations of production that underpinned the vulnerability of victims, despite being conducted in the name of victim-protection and improving livelihoods.


1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 147-168
Author(s):  
Francisco E. Thoumi

Economic growth and government policies in small Caribbean countries have been conditioned (1) by the very large fluctuations in their external sector which continuously change the relative profitability of the various productive sectors of their economies, greatly complicating the macroeconomics management of their economies; (2) by the attempts of their governments to cope with those fluctuations; and (3) by the political economy relations that prevail in those countries, and that determine the nature of government intervention and the role of the private sector.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tricia D. Olsen

ABSTRACT:How does the state influence stakeholder legitimacy? And how does this process affect an industry’s ethical challenges? Stakeholder theory adopts a forward-looking perspective and seeks to understand how managers can address stakeholders’ claims to improve the firm’s ability to create value. Yet, existing work does not adequately address the role of the state in defining the stakeholder universe nor the implications this may have for subsequent ethical challenges managers face. This article develops a political stakeholder theory (political ST) by weaving together the political economy, stakeholder theory, and legitimacy literatures. Political ST shows how state policies influence stakeholder legitimacy and, in turn, affect an industry’s ethical challenges. This article integrates the concept of agonism to address the perennial tension between markets and states and its implications for firms and their managers. Political ST is then applied to the case of microfinance, followed by a discussion of the contributions of this approach.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B Nieborg ◽  
Anne Helmond

Facebook’s usage has reached a point that the platform’s infrastructural ambitions are to be taken very seriously. To understand the company’s evolution in the age of mobile media, we critically engage with the political economy of platformization. This article puts forward a conceptual framework and methodological apparatus to study Facebook’s economic growth and expanding platform boundaries in the mobile ecosystem through an analysis of the Facebook Messenger app. Through financial and institutional analysis, we examine Messenger’s business dimension and draw on platform studies and information systems research to survey its technical dimension. By retracing how Facebook, through Messenger, operationalizes platform power, this article attempts to bridge the gap between these various disciplines by demonstrating how platforms emerge and how their apps may evolve into platforms of their own, thereby gaining infrastructural properties. It is argued that Messenger functions as a ‘platform instance’ that facilitates transactions with a wide range of institutions within the boundaries of the app and far beyond.


1993 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Hawes ◽  
Hong Liu

This essay reviews two sets of books that explore the origins and dynamics of Southeast Asia's growth and economic transformation. One set of books utilizes a structuralist framework and emphasizes the role of the state in creating a (now) powerful capitalist class. The other set of books utilizes an institutionalist framework to explain how new patterns of private/public sector collaboration have resulted in rapid economic growth. The authors point to weaknesses in both approaches and to areas where the two approaches can be fruitfully synthesized. They also offer suggestions for future research.


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