Political economy has been an essential realm of inquiry and has attracted myriad intellectual adherents for much of the period of modern scholarship, although its formal split into the distinct disciplines of political science and economics in the nineteenth century has limited the study of important social issues. This volume calls for a reaffirmation of the importance of the unified study of political economy, and explores the frontiers of the interaction between politics and markets. It brings together intellectual leaders from various areas, drawing on state-of-the-art theoretical and empirical analysis from each of the underlying disciplines. Each chapter, while beginning with a survey of existing work, focuses on profitable lines of inquiry for future developments. Particular attention is devoted to fields of active current development. CONTENTS 1 Introduction Jeffrey S. Banks and Eric A. Hanushek The economics and politics of regulation: perspectives, agenda, and approaches David P. Baron 2 Regulatory commitment and utilities' privatization: implications for future comparative research Pablo T Spiller 3 The political economy of transformation: liberalization and property rights William H. Riker and David L. Weimer 4 Politics and trade policy Raymond Riezman and John D. Wilson 5 Elections, party structure, and the economy Alberto Alesina 6 The politics and economics of budget deficit control: policy questions and research questions Edward M. Gramlich 7 Law, legislation, and positive political theory John Ferejohn 8 The rational choice theory of social institutions: cooperation, coordination, and communication Randall L. Calvert