Micro-institutional Foundations of Capitalism

This book introduces a new theory of pathways to globalization and development, which identifies national configurations of sectoral models.

Roselyn Hsueh (Author)

9781108472135, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 June 2022

422 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 3.1 cm, 0.78 kg

'Roselyn Hsueh's book achieves quite a few remarkable feats by underlining the significance of the perception of strategic value of a sector within the state. The book brings ideas and the state back in without undermining the importance of material factors. It is a remarkable feat to compare China, India and Russia in a historically serious way, without compromising methodological rigor. Hsueh is one of those rare scholars who have demonstrated that comparative area studies can marry richness with rigor, without compromising either.' Rahul Mukherji, Professor and Chair, Modern Politics of South Asia, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University

What is the relationship between internal development and integration into the global economy in developing countries? How and why do state–market relations differ? And do these differences matter in the post-cold war era of global conflict and cooperation? Drawing on research in China, India, and Russia and examining sectors from textiles to telecommunications, Micro-institutional Foundations of Capitalism introduces a new theory of sectoral pathways to globalization and development. Adopting a historical approach, the book's Strategic Value Framework shows how state elites perceive the strategic value of sectors in response to internal and external pressures. Sectoral structures and organization of institutions further determine the role of the state in market coordination and property rights arrangements. The resultant dominant patterns of market governance vary by country and sector within country. These national configurations of sectoral models are the micro-institutional foundations of capitalism, which mediate globalization and development.

Part I. Politics of Market Governance: 1. Understanding varieties of market governance in the age of globalization
2. Perceived strategic value and sectoral structures and organization of institutions
Part II. Nations and Sectors: Patterns of Market Governance: 3. China and sectoral variation: evolution of techno-security developmentalism and the rise of bifurcated capitalism
4. Security imperatives, infrastructural development, and high-tech sectors: centralized governance in Chinese telecommunications
5. Political stability, local goals, and labor-intensive sectors: decentralized governance in Chinese textiles
6. India and sectoral variation: evolution of neoliberal self-reliance and the rise of bifurcated liberalism
7. Pro-liberalization transnational business and high-tech services: regulated governance in Indian telecommunications
8. Political legitimacy, economic stability, and labor-intensive small-scale sectors: centralized governance in Indian textiles
9. Russia and sectoral variation: evolution of resource security nationalism and the rise of bifurcated oligarchy
10. National security and infrastructure and resource sectors: centralized governance in Russian telecommunications
11. Regional development and labor-intensive sectors: private governance in Russian textiles
Part III. National Configurations of Sectoral Models: 12. Development, new capitalisms, and future of global conflict and cooperation.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Comparative politics [JPB], Globalization [JFFS]