Political economy and the comparative method

Dr Roberto EspíndolaDepartment of Development and Economic Studies

Room P1.32 Pemberton ext. 3823R.Espindola@Bradford.ac.uk

The Political Economy perspective... Or rather International Political Economy (IPE) • It studies the interaction of political and

economic structures• It considers that interaction both historically

and comparatively

Dominant theories in IPE

• Mercantilism or economic nationalism• Liberalism• Critical theories (Marxism, feminism,

environmentalism)

Economic nationalism or merchantilism• Key actor: the state• Primacy of the political, the state is prior to

the market• Market relations shaped by political power• IPE constituted through actions of rational

states• Conflict and cooperation? Realism

Liberalism

• Focus on individuals, and from the state to corporations, interest groups, NGOs

• Centred on the market, economic progress results from interaction of market actors

• Oppose intervention in markets• View IPE as essentially cooperative, e.g.

theory of comparative advantage

Critical perspective

• Focus on collectives, e.g. classes, gender groups

• Consider the market as exploitative and in need of control

• Explain IPE in terms of dependency, relations of dominance and exploitation

Our emphases to study the IPE of European integration• Processes and institutions, rather than

history or a characterisation of actors• Seeking to study interactions at the

supranational, national (intergovernmental) and subnational levels

• And we’ll do it from a comparative perspective

How de we compare in the Social Sciences?• Well...• We can compare like with like...• Or can we compare different units?

In terms of method:

• Most similar systems design (MSSD)• Most different systems design(MDSD)

Most similar systems design (MSSD)

• Researchers take cases that appear to be similar in as many ways as possible, in order to explain differences between them

 • Example: Morlino's study of

democratisation in Southern Europe

Most different systems design (MDS)

• Researchers take cases that are different, but where similar phenomena have occurred, seeking to explain those phenomena. Most different, similar outcomes.

• Example: Skocpol's analysis of revolutions in France, Russia and China

• MSSD → individualising, variation finding • MDSD → universalising, encompassing

MSSD Case 1Case 2• Var I a a• Var II b b

• Var III c c • Var X x1 x2

• Var Y y1 y2

MDSD Case 1 Case 2

Var I a bVar II c dVar III e fVar X x3 x3

Var Y y3 y3