Institutional change and the social sources of American economic empire: Beyond stylised facts

The three volumes commented on here present some of the very best political economy and economic sociology scholarship on change within the US economy, as well as US-led changes in the international political economy. This review article seeks to identify the key contributions made by these works and how they improve our understanding of institutional change within the US economy. At a time when international relations and political science is populated by critiques of US empire, this article submits that understanding the 'economic taproot' of US power is essential in exposing its enduring character and weaknesses.