Social Structures of Accumulation: The Political Economy of Growth and Crisis

Description

This book offers an ideal introduction to the social structure of accumulation (SSA) approach to the analysis of capitalist economies and societies. This approach seeks to explain the fortunes of economies in terms of the influence of political and economic institutions, and has proved to be a powerful tool for understanding economic success and failure. Combining newly written essays with classic articles of the SSA school, the book examines the international economy and the economies of Japan, South Africa, and Puerto Rico, as well as the United States.

"...a valuable resource for graduate students and advanced undergraduates who can use it as a quick introduction to this perspective...[S]ociologists should see this book as an invitation to participate with SSA scholars in an ongoing multidisciplinary conversation that seeks to understand our current situation within a broader political economic framework." Fred Block, Contemporary Sociology "For those interested in learning about the SSA approach, this book is a must read. It simultaneously covers the area in a comprehensive fashion and sheds much new light on the topic. For those of us whose research was shaped by that of David Gordon, Social Structures of Accumulation represents more than just a useful book." Robert Drago, Review of Social Economy