Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology Online

Extract

Political economy refers to a current of study that analyzes the reciprocal influences among economic, social, and political factors and their impact on how activities are regulated in different institutional contexts. Even though historically the origins go back to the birth of economics, over recent decades this subject of study has witnessed a revival in a variety of scientific sectors. Two aspects characterize this recent tendency: on one hand, a new attention – often in a comparative perspective – to the study of institutions and of the interrelations between economic and sociopolitical phenomena, and, on the other, greater interdisciplinary activity. That said, the use of the same denomination masks the existence of various analytical perspectives. The term new political economy is used to underline not so much the emergence of a common theoretical framework as renewed interest in a field of inquiry that, because of its very subject, encourages the reopening of dialogue between different disciplinary sectors. The signs of this revival of political economy, limited to some of the more significant developments in the three major disciplines involved – economics, political science, and sociology – are discussed below. An important development in economics is the introduction of the new institutional economics, a theoretical perspective that reintroduces institutions into economic ... log in or subscribe to read full text