Trotsky,Gerschenkron and the political economy of late capitalist development

Abstract

The study of late capitalist development is often characterized as a battle between protagonists of market-led versus state-led development. For the latter position, Alexander Gerschenkron looms large, as one of the most significant theorists of state-led development under conditions of relative backwardness. There are striking similarities between Gerschenkron's explication of the advantages of backwardness and Leon Trotsky's concept of uneven and combined development and the privilege of backwardness. (These similarities have been commented upon often but rarely subject to closer comparison.) Indeed, both men share a common problematic – the comprehension of how economically backward countries could skip stages of development in order to join the ranks of economically advanced countries. This article compares their conception of this problematic and illustrates how in a number of areas the two are complementary. These are: their rejection of unilinear patterns of capitalist development, their appreciation of the role of states and institutions in facilitating late development and their understanding of development as a disruptive social process. However, in crucial areas the two diverge. These are: their comprehension of international economic and political relations, the role and position of labour in late development and, ultimately, the potential for late capitalist development to unleash social upheavals and further, non-capitalist transformations. Overall, I suggest how Trotsky's and Gerschenkron's approaches can complement each other, but that ultimately they represent fundamentally opposed approaches to human development.     

Political instability and political terror: Global evidence on persistence

We test the hypotheses that fundamental characteristics in regional proximity, landlockedness, religious‐domination, legal origin, and income levels affect cross‐country differences in the persistence in political terror and political instability in 163 countries for the period 2010–2015. The empirical evidence is based on generalised method of moments. The hypotheses are that the following are associated with comparatively higher levels of persistence in political terror and political instability: regions with predominantly low income countries (Hypothesis 1); landlockedness (Hypothesis 2); Christian‐orientation (Hypothesis 3); French civil law (Hypothesis 4); and Low income (Hypothesis 5). The tested hypotheses are largely invalid. Only Hypotheses 5 and 2 are robustly investigated in the light of concerns about instrument proliferation. Hypothesis 2 is valid for political terror but not for political instability while Hypothesis 5 is neither valid for political instability nor for political terror.     

Game theory and the study of American political development

Game theoretic analyses of American institutions and American political development largely are disconnected enterprises, yet they share many points of contact and thus opportunities for fruitful exchange. In this essay I discuss the value and limits of formalization for the enterprise of institutional analysis that those fields have in common. I conceptualize two broad approaches that formal modelers have taken to study institutions—institutions as game forms, and institutions as equilibria—that have been relatively successful for understanding institutional choice and stability. At the same time, formal modelers have been less successful in addressing institutional change and development, topics about which APD has much to offer. Overall, I contend that crosstalk between the two fields can benefit them both.

     

Inflation and political instability in eight Latin American countries 1946-83

The path of consumer price rises is compared with data for the incidence of political change and the frequency of military regimes from 1946 to 1984 for the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. A highly significant connection between the frequency of military government and the level of inflation is found. This appears to be due to two other significant results: (i) The military regimes are relatively unstable ones. (ii) Inflation normally turns upwards under civilian and downwards under military regimes, i.e., the military regimes are relatively strong in fighting inflation. Finally, it is demonstrated that few regimes survive a spell of hyperinflation.     

科学发展观视角下高校思想政治教学工作的发展

针对目前高校思想政治教学工作中存在的一些问题,提出在科学发展观的指导下,坚持以人为本的原则、全面协调的原则、可持续发展的原则,积极推动思想政治教学工作的发展。     

American political development and new challenges of causal inference

Public Choice - Members of the subfield of American Political Development (APD), like other political scientists, are confronting the identification revolution in the social sciences. They are...     

中国共产党对政治文明的创新与发展

政治文明建设是我国全面建设中国特色社会主义的重要内容。政治文明又是一个历史发展的过程,随着人类社会发展的不断提高,政治文明的建设需要不断地完善、发展。中国共产党以马克思主义为指导,对政治文明进行了创新和发展,并取得了重大的成果。     

Public choice, political economy and development: an introduction to the life, times and themes of Martin Paldam

Martin Paldam is one of the most prominent figures of Danish economics and European public choice. In this introduction to the special issue, we identify five of the areas, where he has made significant contributions: (1) vote and popularity functions and political business cycles; (2) democracy and institutions; (3) the economics of corruption; (4) development aid; and (5) social capital.     

国内政治发展理论研究述评

自从1980年代在国内兴起之后,政治发展理论的研究经历了引介、理论初创、深入发展三个阶段,清晰展示了政治发展理论研究的发展脉络.经过近三十年的努力,国内政治学界在政治发展的主要研究领域获得突破性进展,收获了一批丰硕成果.当然也存在着诸如研究范围狭窄、未形成独立的学科体系、对西方政治发展理论的研究不够深入等问题.这需要国内学者的继续努力,以便推进国内政治发展理论研究的进一步繁荣.     

Causal inference and American political development: the case of the gag rule

Public Choice - We extend previous work on the role of politically motivated donors who contribute to candidates in an election with single dimension policy preferences. In a two-stage game wherein...     

我国多党合作和政治协商制度发展路径探讨

不断发展和完善我国多党合作和政治协商制度的路径有三:一是法制化,将中共领导的多党合作制度的基本内容及其实现的方式、方法和步骤都以法律文件的形式明确加以规定,并使之长期保持不变;二是制度化,将当代中国政党制度运行机制规范化和制度化,提升政党制度的制度化水平;三是程序化,明确规定多党合作关系中各主体作出各种政治行为的条件、方式、方法、步骤、实现及责任。     

The price of virtue

This article offers new evidence on the determinants of U.S. unwed birth rates from 1981 to 1990. We show that illegitimacy rates are positively and significantly correlated with payments under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program over a period in which real AFDC payments declined. We attribute this result to a decline in the social sanctions for illegitimacy. Because social sanctions declined, so did the cost of deviance, as well as the price for which unwed women sold their virtue.