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  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Perspectives on Positive Political Economy
  • Cited by 62
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
July 2011
Print publication year:
1990
Online ISBN:
9780511571657
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571657
Subjects:
Economics, Macroeconomics, Political Economy, Politics and International Relations
Series:
Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions
Information

Book description

This volume serves as an introduction to the field of positive political economy and the economic and political processes with which it is concerned. This new research tradition is distinct from both normative and historical approaches to political economy. Grounded in the rational-actor methodology of microeconomics, positive political economy is the study of rational decisions in a context of political and economic institutions. More analytical than traditional approaches, it is concerned with the derivation of principles and propositions against which real-world experience may be compared. Its focus is on empirical regularities, and its goal is theoretical explanation. The field has focused on three main areas of research: models of collective action, constraints on competitive market processes, and the analysis of transaction costs. Developments in all of these areas are covered in the book. The first part of the volume surveys the field, while the second part displays positive political economy at work, examining a variety of subjects. The final part contains essays by leading political economists on the theoretical foundations of the field.

Reviews

"Unlike most edited volumes, this works as a collection. There are no clinkers, no weak contributors and no weak contributions....PPE is distinct from both political science and economics, not so much because those disciplines are unable to address the questions of interest, but because they have chosen not to." Michael C. Munger, The Southern Economic Journal

"The book is a must for libraries and will find its way into many a scholar's personal library." Journal of Economic Literature

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