Documents theoretical analysis 111 results

"This article proposes a general theoretical framework for understanding the concept of “class compromise ” in terms of a “reverse-J ” model of the relationship between the associational power of workers and the interests of capitalists: increases in working-class power adversely affect capitalist-class interests until such power crosses some intermediate threshold beyond which further increases in working-class power are potentially beneficial to capitalists ' interests. This article argues that the reverse-J curve is itself the result of two distinct kinds of effects of workers ' power on capitalists ' interests: one, a negative effect, in which workers ' power undermines the capacity of capitalists to unilaterally make various kinds of decisions, and the second, a positive effect, in which workers ' power helps capitalists solve the various kinds of collective action problems they face. The concept of “class compromise ” invokes three quite distinct images."

"Precariousness is a pervasive and increasing condition of life in both the developed and less developed regions of the world. Guy Standing has proposed a reconceptualisation of these trends from precarity as a condition to the precariat as a class distinct from the working class. This article presents a Marxist critique of this reconceptualisation on two principle grounds: first, that the material interests of people in the precariat and in the working class are not sufficiently opposed to each other for these to constitute two distinct classes; and second, that across the various segments of the precariat the optimal strategies for securing a livelihood are not sufficiently unified for the precariat as a whole to constitute a class."

"The wage- versus profit-led distinction is a cornerstone of post-Keynesian growth theory. However, the existing theoretical literature focuses on the functional distribution of income and ignores the distribution of wages. This paper shows how the distribution of wages affects whether an economy is wage- or profit-led. Since the distribution of wages impacts personal income distribution, that explains why income inequality can also impact regime character. Increases in workers' wage share always increase growth and capacity utilization regardless of the economy's character. Furthermore, an increase in workers' wage share can flip an economy from being profit-led to wage-led."

"We present a novel approach for measuring democracy based on Support Vector Machines, a mathematical algorithm for pattern recognition. The Support Vector Machines Democracy Index (SVMDI) is continuously on the 0-1-interval and enables a very detailed measurement of democracy for 188 countries between 1981 and 2011. Application of the SVMDI highlights a robust positive relationship between democracy and economic growth. We argue that the ambiguity in recent studies mainly originates from the lack of sensitivity of traditional democracy indicators. Analyzing transmission channels we conclude that democratic countries have better educated populations, higher investment shares, and lower fertility rates, but not necessarily higher levels of redistribution."

"In the past decade, active labour market policy (ALMP) has become a major topic in comparative social policy analysis, with scholars exploiting cross-national variation to seek to identify the determinants of policy development in this central area of the ‘new welfare state'. In this paper, we argue that better integration of this policy field into social policy scholarship requires rather more critical engagement with considerable methodological, conceptual and theoretical challenges in order to analyse these policies comparatively. Most fundamentally, rather more reflection is needed on what the substantially relevant dimensions of variation in ALMP from a social policy perspective actually are, as well as enhanced efforts to ensure that it is those that are being analysed and compared."

"Regulatory framework conditions have been identified as important factors influencing the innovation activities of companies, industries and whole economies. However, in the empirical literature, the impacts of regulation have been assessed as rather ambivalent for innovation. Different types of regulations generate various impacts and even a single type of regulation can influence innovation in various ways depending on how the regulation is implemented. The endogenous growth approach developed by Carlin and Soskice (2006) and empirically applied by Crafts (2006), which determines endogenously the rate of technological progress and therefore innovation, allows a conceptual analysis of the influence of different types of regulation on innovation. In general, the negative effect of compliance costs should be compared with the more dynamic effect of regulations generating additional incentives for innovative activities. Based on this approach, we derive hypotheses on the impact of different specific regulations on innovation.



We differentiate between economic, social and institutional regulations following the OECD taxonomy on regulations. Existing economic analyses are surveyed, which are characterised by rather heterogeneous approaches, data bases and results. The paper aims to apply a comprehensive and comparative approach to investigate quantitatively the innovation impacts in 21 OECD countries using panel data for the period between 1998 and 2004. In summary, the empirical results confirm the hypotheses derived from the conceptual theoretical framework determining technical progress and innovation endogenously and allowing a distinction between short-term and long-term effects. Consequently, the theoretical approach is an appropriate starting point for the empirical analysis of the influence of different regulations on innovation."

"Against the backdrop of an explosion of interest in new techniques for data collection and theory testing, this volume provides a fresh programmatic statement about comparative-historical analysis. It examines the advances and distinctive contributions that CHA has made to theory generation and the explanation of large-scale outcomes that newer approaches often regard as empirically intractable. An introductory essay locates the sources of CHA's enduring influence in core characteristics that distinguish this approach, such as its attention to process and its commitment to empirically grounded, deep case-based research. Subsequent chapters explore broad research programs inspired by CHA work, new analytic tools for studying temporal processes and institutional dynamics, and recent methodological tools for analyzing sequences and for combining CHA work with other approaches. This volume is essential reading for scholars seeking to learn about the sources of CHA's enduring influence and its contemporary analytical and methodological techniques."

"This article builds a theoretical framework to help explain governance patterns in global value chains. It draws on three streams of literature - transaction costs economics, production networks, and technological capability and firm-level learning - to identify three variables that play a large role in determining how global value chains are governed and change. These are: (1) the complexity of transactions, (2) the ability to codify transactions, and (3) the capabilities in the supply-base. The theory generates five types of global value chain governance - hierarchy, captive, relational, modular, and market - which range from high to low levels of explicit coordination and power asymmetry. The article highlights the dynamic and overlapping nature of global value chain governance through four brief industry case studies: bicycles, apparel, horticulture and electronics."

"This paper examines the relation between positivistic and interpretive sociology, using the stress research literature as a case study. Analyzing the cultural history of the stress concept, it uncovers four central themes: anxiety, performance, adjustment, and mentalism. Examining the self-criticisms made by scientific students of stress, it focuses on the problems of temporal order, confounding, and interaction. Comparison of the cultural and scientific literatures shows that while some of the positivists' complaints derive from general methodological choices, others come from inescapable aspects of the culture's general idea of stress. Considering the past development of stress research, the paper argues that positivism and interpretation have not been Cartesian opposites but interpenetrating fractals. It then speculates about what this relation implies for future positivistic studies, both in the stress literature and more generally."