Political Economy

Research Area

Lucio Baccaro

This research area focuses on political economy, defined broadly as the study of economic phenomena from an interdisciplinary perspective. Research in this cluster builds on social science approaches and methods – drawn primarily from political science and sociology, but also history, geography, and of course economics. This approach to political economy, while theoretically and methodologically diverse, is underpinned by a common concern with embedding the analysis of economic phenomena within the social and political realms. Furthermore, research interests embrace both comparative (CPE) and international (IPE) political economy.

This broad understanding of political economy seeks to overcome the separation of IPE and CPE into separate subdisciplines, which evolved, somewhat ironically, precisely when globalization accelerated and the conditions of “embedded liberalism” came under pressure. Research in this cluster uses a wide array of methods, including quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods, depending on the nature of the research question.

A key goal of the research area is to contribute to the further development of the growth model perspective. This perspective aims to account both for commonality and for diversity in contemporary capitalism. Rather than focusing on institutional sets underpinning different production regimes (varieties of capitalism), the growth model perspective shifts the focus onto the demand drivers of growth and associated key sectors or firms.

Current research projects cover both the political economy and the politics of growth models. Examples include applying or extending the growth model perspective to specific countries, analyzing social coalitions underpinning both sustained growth and stagnation across countries, studying individual preferences for different macroeconomic regimes, understanding the effects of hegemonic economic discourses on policy outcomes, investigating the impact of growth models on individual level preferences and the agendas of political parties, and identifying growth models empirically.
Other projects explore the international political economy dimension of growth models, such as the role of international financial flows and monetary power, and the different manifestations of secular stagnation across different types of national capitalism. Another strand of research looks at the impact of the euro on European growth models, and the feasibility of reform of the economic governance of the eurozone.

Researchers in this cluster share an orientation to political economy and seek to contribute to the common agenda of the research area, but also pursue their own research ideas, as demonstrated by the diversity of research projects in the cluster.

Current Projects

Politics of Growth Models

International Political Economy of Growth Models

Political Economy of the Euro

Doctoral Projects