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.
"The Global Economics of European Populism: Growth Regimes and Party System Change in Europe (The Government and Opposition/Leonard Schapiro Lecture 2017)," Government and Opposition. 54 (2) (2019) pp. 193-225, with Jonathan Hopkin.
"From Big Bang to Big Crash: The Early Origins of the UK's Finance-led Growth Model and the Persistence of Bad Policy Ideas," New Political Economy. 24 (5) (2018) pp. 605-622, with Tami Oren.
“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
April 3, 2020 Financial Times
In this piece, Mark Blyth's article in Foreign Affairs is cited. He argues that the U.S. economic model makes it more vulnerable to the coronavirus than countries with stronger welfare safety nets.
March 30, 2020 Foreign Affairs
In this article, Mark Blyth explores the two competing epidemiological models currently dividing expert opinion on how best to respond to COVID-19.
March 27, 2020
In March 2020, Mark Blyth co-wrote "Beyond bailouts" with Eric Lonergan. This piece focuses on providing rapid analysis and expertise to the UK government in hopes of protecting livelihoods and ensuring long-term economic recovery in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
March 23, 2020 Irish Times
In this article, Mark Blyth is cited for helping generate signatures for an open letter signed by more than 400 leading academics calling for the European Council of Ministers to raise finance for the entire eurozone through a pooled financial instrument called a "eurobond."
October 18, 2019 Marketplace
Mark Blyth provides commentary in Marketplace, "It’s mostly English taxpayers that keep Northern Ireland afloat with an $11 billion a year subsidy."
October 4, 2019 DW
Mark Blyth offers commentary on the state of disaffection in the United Kingdom.
July 16, 2019 Deutsche Welle
Political economist Mark Blyth comments on the allegations that Nigel Farage may have influenced markets to help hedge funds on Brexit referendum night in 2016, and if it could happen again on October 31. "If you have a leading politician pushing in that direction, this gives the hedge funds a one-way bet, with insurance against failure. And that's the type of 'option' hedgies love the most."
Available starting March 31 at 3 p.m.
Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, Virtual Events
12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Joukowsky Forum, 111 Thayer Street
Meet the Author, Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance
12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. McKinney Conference Room, 111 Thayer Street
Meet the Author, Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance
12 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Joukowsky Forum, 111 Thayer Street
Meet the Author, Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance
For students only.
4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. Joukowsky Forum, 111 Thayer Street
Public Policy, Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, Student Events
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. The Agora, 1st Floor, Stephen Robert '62 Hall, 280 Brook Street
Politics in Action, Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance