ABSTRACT
Scholars have claimed that the last two decades of the 20th century have seen a rise in market deregulation and economic liberalization on a global scale (e.g., Lash and Urry 1987; Albert 1993; Przeworski 1995; Campbell and Pedersen 2001). Although many welcome these developments as evidence that the market is fi nally freed to select out the most effi cient policies (Posner 1986; Williamson 1990), others consider these changes as a result of a political project-neo-liberalism-promoted by international organizations and domestic political forces, like Reagan and Thatcher governments (Meyer et al. 1997; Gore 2000; Babb 2001; Campbell and Pedersen 2001; Carruthers et al. 2001; Brune et al. 2004; Henisz et al. 2005). But what drives the adoption of neo-liberal reforms?
