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The Political Economy of the State

Module description

Well-functioning states define and enforce the rules that govern economic relations, but building a successful state is not easy. In this module first you will examine the development of political institutions: What conditions are conducive to state development and survival? How should rulers be selected and restrained? When and why does reform occur? What makes reform succeed? Second, you will analyse some issues of contemporary economic policy which challenge the functioning and capacity of modern states.  You will address these questions using political economy approaches and with attention to historical processes. There are no pre-requisites and the relevant concepts will be introduced during the module.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The first aim of the module is to allow you to analyse the development and operation of the modern state. You will do this by first analysing some key historical turning points and processes, such as ‘the Glorious Revolution’, the extension of the franchises in democracies, the development of public services. How did these come about, what have been their consequences? In this section we focus primarily on the US and European states. We will focus on processes that occur prior to WW2.

A second aim is to understand the contemporary dilemmas facing the state by drawing on insights from history and analytical models. For instance: how are labour markets managed? Is there a contemporary role of industrial policy – particularly in relation to decarbonization?  Are there different varieties of ‘advanced’ capitalism and how do different economies and states respond to economic change?

Throughout the module you will draw on literature from political economy, economic, political and administrative history.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of key historical turning points in the development of the modern state;
• 2. apply political economy approaches to the analysis of developments of the modern state;
• 3. produce in-depth analysis of the dilemmas that currently face states using political economy models and in light of the historical record.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. critically assess the limitations of political economy models;
• 5. effectively and critically use a range of sources and materials commonly employed in political economy research, including historical studies and quantitative data.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. develop structured, coherent and theoretically informed arguments about key dilemmas facing the state;
• 7. write clearly about abstract models and empirical data.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the precise content might vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:  

Term 1 The historical evolution of capitalism and nation-states

1. The development of modern European states: institutions and capacity
2. Capitalism and ‘the first wave of democratization’
3. Gender and economic and political change 
4. Social spend, the welfare state and democracy
5. State led growth ’

Term 2 Varieties of capitalism in a global economy

1. ‘Varieties of Capitalism’
2. Varieties of Capitalism beyond ‘the core’
3. The transformation of labour markets and institutions
4. Digital economy, platforms and regulation
5. Welfare and equality in contemporary capitalism

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

North, D. and Weingast, B. W. (1989) ‘Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in 17^th Century England’ Journal of Economic History, 49: 803-32. 

Ziblatt, D. (2006) ‘How did Europe Democratize?’  World Politics, 58: 311-338. 

Moehling, C. M and Thomasson, M. A. (2020) ‘Votes for Women: an economic perspective on women’s enfranchisement’ The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34:2, 3-23. 

Haggard, S. (2015) 'The developmental state is dead: long live the developmental state!'  in Mahoney and Thelen (ed) Advances in Comparative Historical Analysis.  Cambridge: CUP. 

Hall, P. and Soskice, D. (2001) Varieties of Capitalism. Cambridge: CUP.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Key words search

Politics, Economy, State