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A theoretical study of the feasibility of socialism. Politically, socialism is characterised by equality, democracy and liberty. Economically, it is assumed (i) that the feasibility of socialism depends upon its ability to generate growth, and (ii) that growth is secured through entrepreneurial activity. Economic theory is used to delineate the concept of entrepreneurship and to explore the nature and limitations of capitalist entrepreneurship and political theory is used to identify possible incompatibilities between socialism and entrepreneurship. Underlying many of these arguments is a claim for the existence of a trade-off between efficiency and equality. The capacity of market socialism to either transcend or minimise this trade-off is considered. Three forms of market socialism are examined. The first is drawn from Joseph Carens' work on moral incentives, the second from theories of the labour-managed firm and the third from new public management. The socialist credentials and capacity of each to generate entrepreneurial activity are appraised. Examples drawn upon include Israeli Kibbutzim, the Spanish Mondragon cooperative, British nationalised industries and the Japanese computer industry. Economic new institutionalism, welfare economics and Austrian economic theory are all on occasions used but the principle methodology is rational choice. Specifically, theory principle agent analysis and William Niskanen's of the budget - using bureaucracy shown capable, illuminating discussion. Given even the assumption of egoism it is argued that through careful institutional and organisational design, tensions between socialism and entrepreneurship can be alleviated.

‘Organising for exclusion?’ is a comparative study of the response of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom to asylum seekers within the context of their relationship to each other and their membership of the European Union (EU). Through documents which cover the period from 1990 to June 2017, together with interviews with actors directly engaged in making or seeking to influence asylum policy in both states, this thesis challenges the view of the state as impotent, faced with waves of people seeking to cross its borders that the state is unable to control. It questions this narrative from the viewpoint of those responsible for the asylum policies in both states and argues that Ireland and the UK have achieved their objectives, by reducing the numbers of asylum seekers and, critically, the state’s obligations towards those in need of international protection. It argues that, in so doing, Irish and UK policy makers have created policy that has sidestepped the state’s legal and moral obligations to refugees, whilst presenting the image of being willing hosts to the ‘most vulnerable’. ‘Organising for exclusion?’ draws upon theories of immigration and refugees, of the state and state traditions and of regional governance in the form of the EU. It applies historical institutionalism and situated agency to the empirical material and uses sensemaking to identify the ways in which actors created or understood the framework set for them and the actions that this led to. The study focuses on the governance of asylum and the role of the state in the creation of the ‘asylum seeker’ as it is seen through the reflections and actions of those responsible for asylum policy.

Almost ten years on from the global financial crisis this thesis asks whether banks in the U.K. have learned lessons from the 2008 crisis and if these systemically important institutions are now safer. Using original empirical research including elite interviews and documentary analysis this thesis outlines how banks have responded to the institutional and structural weaknesses highlighted by the crisis to the extent that we might identify examples of learning and change. The analysis suggests that following the financial crisis different banks have taken very different paths. While some institutions have become more risk averse and display positive signs of lesson learning others have shown little evidence of change. Discussions around agency, institutional path dependency and structural competitive pressures are used to explain these inter-bank variations.

In 2008 the neoliberal economic ideas steering the course of global economic governance seemingly collapsed as the world entered into the greatest financial and economic crash since the Great Depression. Initially a range of precipitating causes were offered including lax monetary policy and a miss-pricing of risk, common to which was an assumption that although severe, the downturn was limited to policy failures in a relatively stable economic framework, and therefore constituted a crisis for neoliberal global economic governance. As the downturn intensified however, there developed a consensus that the situation facing policymakers was not simply a crisis for neoliberal global economic governance, but more fundamentally a crisis of neoliberalism which was now interpreted as a major precipitating cause. Therefore just as the failure of Keynesianism presaged a shift to neoliberalism, so too was there an expectation that its failure would exert a similarly transformative dynamic. Against this backdrop this research investigates the extent to which the neoliberal economic ideas steering the course of global economic governance are characterised by change or continuity. This is explored through the examination of an institution commonly assumed a bastion of neoliberalism, the IMF, and with specific reference to two areas synonymous with neoliberal economic ideas, monetary and fiscal policy, and financial sector liberalization. The research points to two reasons to suggest the potential for change. Firstly, many of the neoliberal economic ideas advocated by the IMF were cognitively falsified by the severity of the economic downturn. Secondly, as the downturn unravelled, the IMF advocated a range of policy interventions that had been considered largely anathema only months previously. Nevertheless, the key finding of this research is that to suggest this was the beginnings of a major shift was to miss-read the intentions of those tasked with responding to the crisis who were more concerned with preserving, as opposed to altering, the status quo. As a result, it is demonstrated that the IMF remains committed to the neoliberal economic philosophy (assumptions made regarding the efficacy of the market as opposed to state intervention) which has vital implications for the way in which economic problems continue to be interpreted and responded to, and the kinds of policies considered appropriate.

In this thesis, I explore the policy responses to the financial crisis of 2001/2002 in Argentina and its implications for the Argentine political economy between 2002 and 2007. Precisely, I examine the extent and nature of the shift from neoliberalism to neo-developmentalism in Argentina between 2002 and 2007. Scholars who observed the rise of the New Left governments in Latin America argued that there was a renewal of state activism and developmentalism which implied a distinct departure from the neoliberalism of the 1990s. Argentina`s post-crisis political economy was viewed from a post-neoliberal perspective. Using the concept of new developmentalism labelled by Bresser-Pereira in 2003, I offer a more nuanced approach to post-neoliberalism in Argentina. I argue that post-neoliberal project or neo-developmentalism in Argentina does not represent a distinct departure from neoliberalism or a return to old developmentalism. Instead, it embodies a more hybrid and complex process that maintained core elements of economic liberalism. This thesis aims to contribute to the debates about post-neoliberalism and the New Left in Latin America.