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Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century

by Mark Blyth (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
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Mark Blyth argues that economic ideas are powerful political tools as used by domestic groups in order to effect change since whoever defines what the economy is, what is wrong with it, and what would improve it, has a profound political resource in their possession. Blyth analyzes the 1930s and 1970s, two periods of deep-seated institutional change that characterized the twentieth century. Viewing both periods of change as part of the same dynamic, Blyth argues that the 1930s labor reacted against the exigencies of the market and demanded state action to mitigate the market's effects by "embedding liberalism" and the 1970s, those who benefited least from such "embedding" institutions, namely business, reacted against these constraints and sought to overturn that institutional order. In Great Transformations, Blyth demonstrates the critical role economic ideas played in making institutional change possible and he rethinks the relationship between uncertainty, ideas, and interests on how, and under what conditions, institutional change takes place. Mark Blyth is an assistant professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University specializing in comparative political economy. He has taught at Columbia University, and at the University of Birmingham, UK. Blyth is a member of the editorial board of the Review of International Political Economy.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0521010527
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0521010528
  3. Publisher
    Cambridge University Press
  4. Publication date
    September 16, 2002
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  7. Print length
    298 pages
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Editorial Reviews

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"[R]emarkably rigorous, original, and interesting work.... Blyth breaks new ground by using Frank Knight's concept of uncertainty as a linchpin for this theory of institutional change.... Highly recommended." Choice

"Economic historians frequently fail to connect their findings to broader political and sociological questions. Mark Blyth, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, avoids that pitfall in Great Transformations. In a well-researched comparative study of the United States and Sweden, Blyth analyzes the impact of economic ideas on institutional change." History: Reviews of New Books

"Blyth's analysis is sweeping, thorough, and powerfully demonstrates the path-shaping power of ideas to frame and give substance to institutional reconfiguration." Governance

"[An] important new book." EH.NET

Book Description

An analysis of political power of economic ideas used by domestic groups to effect change.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press (September 16, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 298 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0521010527
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0521010528
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 30 ratings

About the author

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Mark Blyth

Mark Blyth

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I am Professor of International Political Economy in the Department of Political Science at Brown University and a Faculty Fellow at Brown's Watson Institute for International Studies. I grew up in Dundee, Scotland. I received my PhD in political science from Columbia University in 1999 and taught at the Johns Hopkins University from 1997 until 2009.

My research interests lie in the of field international political economy. More specifically, my research trespasses several fields and aims to be as interdisciplinary as possible, drawing from political science, economics, sociology, complexity theory and evolutionary theory. My work falls into several related areas: the politics of ideas, how institutions (and disciplines) change, political parties, and the politics of finance.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Matthew D. Jones
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Book and a Worthy Successor to Polanyi's Great Transformation
    Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2012
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    This is a brilliant, meticulously researched book, which is a worthy successor to Polanyi's seminal work, The Great Transformation, from which it explicitly draws its inspiration.

    Blyth's central thesis is that, in the operation of democratic capitalism, "[i]deas matter because they can actually alter people's conception of their own self-interest" (p. vii). He then goes on to detail how, in Sweden and the United States, "embedded liberalism" ("liberalism" in the American sense of center-left on the political spectrum) grew out of a set of economic ideas about the origins of the Great Depression that led to policies informing a set of institutions (such as collective bargaining) that tempered the effects of markets on labor, and which became so "embedded" in the functioning of democratic capitalism that the ideas and institutions appeared "natural" and irrational to question.

    However, starting in the 1960s, and reaching a head with the "stagflation" of the 1970s, economic elites determined that "embedded liberalism" was no longer in their interests. The book then details how these elites systematically deployed their considerable resources to resurrect once discredited neoliberal ("neoliberal" in the other sense of support for laissez faire markets) economic ideas (e.g., Hayek and Friedman) to build credibility for an institutional structure where elite prerogatives (such as free mobility of capital) appeared to be "natural" and in the general interest.

    It goes without saying that the success of the neoliberal project, which is ongoing, has been considerable. One need only consider how Richard Nixon's economic policies (which, at various points, involved abandonment of the market in favor of price controls) were to the left of Obama's; yet the right paints Obama as an alien socialist.

    The details of how the institutional shifts unfolded and the specific structures that developed in the United States and Sweden differed significantly due to local culture, politics and the dramatically different place that each country occupies within global capitalism. Nevertheless, Blyth convincingly demonstrates that the development and content of ideas mattered in the creation and destruction of "embedded liberalism." The particular virtue of this work is that it examines this process in detail at a "middle" level that is rarely considered. Often, other studies that examine the same topics and history as Great Transformations either operate at a level of abstraction that glosses over the specific, historical development of institutions, or simply give a historical narrative without developing a theory of the processes at work.

    Although it appears not to draw upon it, Great Transformations nicely complements Immanuel Wallerstein's work on world systems theory, which is similar in spirit in paying attention to both historical detail and theory, but which focuses more on the development and operation of capitalism as a global system than the development of institutions in specific countries. It also complements the work of the Marxian economists Gerard Duménil and Dominique Lévy, which, among other things, details how economic elites coopted many of the financial institutions developed in the wake of the Depression to accomplish the turn to neoliberalism and the upward distribution of wealth.
    24 people found this helpful
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  • Daniel Nexon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sweeping and provocative
    Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2003
    Mark Blyth's Great Transformations may or may not be the true heir to Polanyi's Great Transformation, but it certainly comes close. Blyth provides a clear, incisive criticism of the way most political economists treat the role of ideas in the formation of economic policy. The two case studies -- the United States and Sweden -- provide plausible evidence that Blyth is correct about the multifaceted role economic ideas play in mobilizing political actors, transforming the way the economy is regulated, and even influencing market behavior. These strengths ensure the book's importance to an academic audience.
    But there is much here for the non-academic. Those interested in current debates about the role of the government in the economy will find many of Blyth's arguments deeply provocative. Blyth shows how the "common sense assumptions" that currently dominate arguments about tax and fiscal policy owe their success not to the truth of their propositions but to a series of contingent synergies between external events, such as the OPEC oil embargo, and political struggles in specific countries. Ultimately, Blyth's book is a powerful call to make political values, rather than facile claims about economic inevitability, the centerpiece of debates about the future of welfare and governmental regulation. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Blyth, his history of the development, adoption, and non-adoption of economic principles in the US and Sweden should not be ignored.
    28 people found this helpful
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  • Brian P Woods
    3.0 out of 5 stars How to avoid Successful Failures!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2014
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    This is a scholarly text. Useful for undergrads or postgrads who are taking a course in Politics or Behavioural Economics or History of Economic Ideas. Its not an easy book to read. The descriptions are technical and the arguments are somewhat difficult to follow. You really do need a reasonable knowledge of the Political Economy of western developed economies in order to understand what the author is attempting to describe and make sense of. The main thrust of his arguments seem to be the manner in which 'ideas' - I assume he also means beliefs, opinions, views, may or may not be implemented in the political and economic spheres. There has to be some 'institutional' (formalized organizational setting of some sort) based process available. This 'organization' may be an existing one, or a new one may have to be created. If its an existing organization, then it will have to be 'transformed' in some manner. And transformations are devilish hard to achieve. Ideas, especially the mad, bad and dangerous economic ones tend to abide - as do the organizations that contain them. The gamechanger, if that is the proper term her, is a massive or prolonged political / economic crisis. Now, pre-existing policy ideas will be tried out again and again, but to little effect. Eventually, new ideas may be 'permitted' to surface, a more realistic diagnosis of the underlying cause of the crisis is made, and a transformed 'organization' then allows a different set of policies are put into effect. Basically, the underlying message is that political attempts to transform an existing hegemonic economic paradigm (aka: Permagrowth), which is by all accounts is no longer performing as it is expected to, will fail. The politicians will not recognize that its their existing mindsets (ideas) that are the problem, hence they will invoke ineffective policy responses, and when these do not 'cure' the patient, they will persist and persist with failing policies until they provoke a massive crisis - and the they have to try something different. Sound familiar?
    7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Ganesh Hegde
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Work!
    Reviewed in India on December 21, 2017
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    The author is a really distinguished person. The book is great mix of history, macroeconomics, game theory and politics. One of the elite thinkers of our generation. Lots of the stuff that has been happening today can be interpreted by the help of this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has interest in investing, politics and economics.
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  • ogilvie
    3.0 out of 5 stars starts out badly, then gets better
    Reviewed in Canada on March 6, 2014
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    This book is relatively unknown, given the reviews of Blyth's newer book "Austerity." It turns out that this lack of attention is mostly warranted. This book -- despite the title -- is essentially a comparison of US and Swedish economic policy over the past 100 years. The first two chapters are entirely agonizing theoretical gibberish. When the factual information is introduced, things improve substantially. Still, every factual nugget is repeated two or three times. In short, this treatment is far from definitive.
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