Mark Blyth
The William R. Rhodes ’57 Professor of International Economics
Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs
Mark Blyth is a political economist whose research focuses upon how uncertainty and randomness impact complex systems, particularly economic systems, and why people continue to believe stupid economic ideas despite buckets of evidence to the contrary. He is the author of several books, including Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2002, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (Oxford University Press 2013, and The Future of the Euro (with Matthias Matthijs) (Oxford University Press 2015)
Currently trying to stop talking about the macroeconomics of austerity but bad ideas never seem to go out of fashion so it's hard to stop. New projects on economic knowledge as a macro-structural property rather than as an individual property; why the Baby-Boomers constitute a threat to future prosperity and political stability; and why long and low inflation rates and interest rates are here to stay for much longer than we think.
“When is it Rational to Learn the Wrong Lessons? Technocratic Authority, Social Learning, and Euro Fragility,” Perspectives on Politics. Volume 16 (1) March 2018, pp. 110-126. doi:10.1017/S1537592717002171
“Black Swans, Lame Ducks, and the Mystery of IPE’s Missing Macro-Economy,” The Review of International Political Economy, 24 (2) (2017) pp. 203-231, with Matthias Matthijs.
“After the Brits Have Gone: How to Turn a Drama into a Crisis that Will Not go to Waste.” The Review of European Economic Policy, 50th Anniversary Issue, Winter 2016.
“Policies to Overcome Stagnation: The Crisis, and the Possible Futures, of All Things Euro.” European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies, Vol. 13 No. 2, 2016, pp. 215–228.
“Capitalism in Crisis: What Went Wrong and What Comes Next” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2016.
POLS 2175 – Ideas, Institutions and Politics.
POLS 2050 and 2051 – Preparing the Prospectus
POLS 1420 – Money and Power in the International Political Economy
PLCY 2730 – The Political Economy of Hard Policy Problems
POLS 2160 – International Political Economy
BBC Business Matters, Mixed Mental Arts (podcast), Majority Report, Michael Brooks Show, Bi-Weekly Podcast with Carrie
March 15, 2019 Supply Chain Drive
Political economist Mark Blyth comments on the British Parliament's votes toward Brexit, saying "It’s an example of what happens when democracies delegate responsibility for making serious decisions to the public and then they have to live with the consequences without ever thinking through what they’re doing."
March 7, 2019 RTE
Political economist Mark Blyth joined RTE to discuss Brexit and British Prime Minister Theresa May.
February 22, 2019 The New York Times
Political economist Mark Blyth comments on the US dollar, saying "There is no alternative to the dollar...We’re stuck with the dollar, which gives the United States astonishing structural power."
February 6, 2019 CNBC
Political economist Mark Blyth joined CNBC to discuss President Trump's State of the Union address.
January 29, 2019 PRI
Political economist Mark Blyth discusses the creation of the European Union and the Brexit referendum. "An interesting aspect of the story is how the United States itself was not just present at the beginning, [but] was actually quite generative of the project."
January 11, 2019 Cambridge University Press
Professors Peter Andreas and Mark Blyth are mentioned in an article published by the Cambridge University Press that "identifies the 100 currently most-cited scholars, the 25 most-cited in each PhD cohort and subfield, the 40 most cited-women scholars, and the 25 most-cited emeriti."
January 11, 2019 Financial Times
Mark Blyth, director of the Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, spoke with the Financial Times about the politicking of central banking, the hurdles to finding a U.S.-China trade war resolution, and how China can manage the financial risks building in its economy.
12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. McKinney Conference Room