Institutional Change and the Social Sources of American Economic Empire: Beyond Stylised Facts

The three volumes commented on here present some of the very best political economy and economic sociology scholarship on change within the US economy, as well as US-led changes in the international political economy. This review article seeks to identify the key contributions made by these works and how they improve our understanding of institutional change within the US economy. At a time when international relations and political science is populated by critiques of US empire, this article submits that understanding the 'economic taproot' of US power is essential in exposing its enduring character and weaknesses.
Gourevitch, P. A. and Shinn, J. J. (2005) Political Power and Corporate Control: The New Global Politics of Corporate Governance. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
Sinclair, T. J. (2005) The New Masters of Capital: American Bond Rating Agencies and the Politics of Creditworthiness. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.
Whitford, J. (2005) The New Old Economy: Networks, Institutions, and the Organizational Transformation of American Manufacturing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.     

Reviews

The Letters of Frederic William Maitland. Edited by C. H. S. Fifoot. Chitty & Jacob's Queen's Bench Forms. Nineteenth edition. By I. H. Jacob, LL.B. Studies in Criminal Law. By Norval Morris and Colin Howard. Ventures in Criminology. Selected Recent Papers. By Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck. Hendrick the Axe Collector. A Study in juvenile criminal guilt. By Denis Hart. Forgery Detection–A Practical Guide. By Wilson R. Harrison, M.SC., PH.D. The Law of Carriage by Inland Transport. Fourth Edition. By Otto Kahn-Freund, M.A., LL.M., DR.JUR., with the assistance of John Hucker, LL.B. Chalmers on Bills of Exchange. Thirteenth edition. By David A. L. Smout. Carver's Carriage by Sea. Eleventh edition. By Raoul P. Colinvaux. Scrutton on Charter Parties and Bills of Lading. Seventeenth edition. By Sir W. L. McNair, Sir A. Mocatta and M. J. Mustill. Developments in the Law of the Sea, 1958–1964. The British Institute of International and Comparative Law: International Law Series No. 3. Linje-Konferanser og Kartell-Lovgivning. (With summary in English.) By Arvid Frihagen. The Sources of the Law of International Trade, with Special Reference to East-West Trade. Edited by Clive M. Schmitthoff. The Changing Structure of International Law. By Wolfgang Friedmann. Protection of Human Rights under the Law. By Gaius Ezejiofor. Conflict of Interests. International Law in a Divided World. By Rosalyn Higgins. The Law of Delict. Sixth edition. By R. G. McKerron. [Cape Town: Juta & Co. Ltd. Stocked and distributed in the United Kingdom An Outline of the Constitutional Development of Malta under British Rule. By Professor the hon. J. J. Cremona, LL. D., B. A. (Malta), B. A. (Lond), PH. D. (Lond.), D. Litt.(Rome), F. R. Hist. S., Attorney-General and Member of the Consultative Council, Malta.