American Political Economy

Marc Allen Eisner is Henry Merritt Writson Chair of Public Policy and professor of government at Wesleyan University. He is the author or co-author of several books on public policy and American political economy.

• Part I: Making Sense of the Political Economy 1. Beyond the Market-State Dichotomy 2. Making Sense of Institutions and Institutional Change Part II: The Evolution of the American Political Economy 3. The Progressive Regime and the Regulatory State 4. The Rise of the New Deal Regime 5. The Postwar Consolidation of the New Deal Regime 6. The Rise and Pause of the Keynesian Welfare State 7. The Neoliberal Regime and the Return of the Market Part III: Neoliberalism and Its Discontents 8. The Two Welfare States and the Coming Entitlement Crisis 9. The Global Economy and the Persistence of the State 10. The Financial Crisis 11. Crisis, Continuity, and Change: The Great Recession in the American Political Economy

"In this new edition of his first-rate book, Eisner explains how and why intense battles over American economic policy are so vital in American politics. Insightful and clearly written, Eisner shows how the grinding battles between the Obama administration and its Tea Party adversaries is playing out on a battlefield shaped by layer upon layer of earlier political conflicts, negotiated settlements, and partially solved problems. This book pulls together the fiscal crisis, recession, and globalization into a coherent narrative of the American political economy."—David Brian Robertson, University of Missouri – St. Louis"In this concise, jargon-free survey of American political economy, Eisner offers students both the historical narrative necessary to understand where we are today and the institutionalist theory to explain why."—Alistair Howard, Temple University"The second edition of The American Political Economy is the most concise and accessible historical examination of American political economy currently available. It is admirably suited for both course use and general public reading. The second edition not only updates the earlier edition but also enlarges and tightens the earlier edition’s analysis of the financial crisis and the great recession. I strongly recommend this as a core text in political economy courses and as a supplementary text in several economics and political science courses."—Robert Sahr, Oregon State University