The growing interconnectedness of national economies and an expanding awareness of global interdependence in the 1990s have generated lively debate over the future of national governance. In a world of mobile capital, are states vital to the social and economic wellbeing of their citizens? A number of changes in the state's domestic and international environment - ranging from regulatory reforms and welfare state restructuring to the proliferation of intergovernmental agreements - have promoted the view that globalisation has a negative impact, compromising state capacities to govern domestically. This book challenges the 'constraints thesis'. Covering vital areas of state activity (welfare, taxation, industrial strategy, and regulatory reform), the contributors focus on a range of issues (finance, trade, technology) faced by both developed and developing countries. The contributors argue that globalisation can enable as well as constrain, and they seek to specify the institutional conditions which sharpen or neutralise the pressures of interdependence.

‘States in the Global Economy is an important contribution to the emerging debate in the literature about a reassessment of the relationship between domestic markets and actors and the ongoing global transformations and challenges. The book highlights the domestic arena as an important area of study if one wants to fully understand the interplay between domestic policy choices and global forces. grounded in a novel and challenging theoretical framework, the book offers theoretical as well as empirical insights, which are highly relevant and very timely.’

Source: International Affairs

'… distinguished by both scholarly rigour and imagination … All the chapters in this wide-ranging study are spirited and sharply written.'

Source: Japanese Journal of Political Science