Publication

As many authors have argued, the state has played a central role in capitalist development, both in developing and developed countries. The question is why have some states been more successful than others in promoting economic development? This paper proposes a theoretical agenda to investigate the factors that have made some states more successful than others. The author suggests that a complex set of historical, sociological, and political factors shape state formation and a country's international competitiveness; further international competitiveness itself shapes the ability to foster economic development.