Thelen (2004) How Institutions Evolve

Thelen, Kathleen Ann. How Institutions Evolve : The Political Economy of Skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Available - SSL - HF5549.5.T7.THE (and issue desk copy)

In conjunction with presentation for research methods class:
Class 2 (week 5): Case studies and small-n studies. (Bermeo/Whitefield).
Students should produce a critique of the strengths and weaknesses of two important case studies/small-N studies in the literature (Scharpf (1991) and Thelen (2004)).

Overview of issues to be addressed:

• What do you see as the main strengths, what as the main weaknesses of the respective studies with respect to their research design?
• Briefly summarize the results of the respective studies, and assess their generalisability. Do the authors discuss generalisability?
• Having read the studies by Scharpf and Thelen, what are your thoughts about the practicability of the positions expressed in the debate between Lieberson and Savolainen?.