Great Transformations
The Great Transformations picks up where Karl Polanyi's study of economic and political change left off. Building upon Polanyi's conception of the double movement, Blyth analyzes the two periods of deep-seated institutional change that characterized the twentieth century: the 1930s and the 1970s. Blyth views both sets of changes as part of the same dynamic. Great Transformations demonstrates the critical role economic ideas played in making institutional change possible. It redesigns the relationship between uncertainty, ideas, and interests, achieving profound new insights on how, and under what conditions, institutional change takes place.
"[R]emarkably rigorous, original, and interesting work... Blyth breaks new ground by using Frank Knight's concept of uncertainty as a linchpin for this theory of institutional change... Highly recommended."
— Choice
"Economic historians frequently fail to connect their findings to broader political and sociological questions. Mark Blyth, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, avoids that pitfall in Great Transformations. In a well-researched comparative study of the United States and Sweden, Blyth analyzes the impact of Economic ideas on institutional change."
— History: Reviews of New Books
"Blyth's analysis is sweeping, thorough, and powerfully demonstrates the path-shaping power of ideas to frame and give substance to institutional reconfiguration."
— Governance
"[An] important new book."
— EH.NET