The formal and informal arrangements underpinning constitutional settlements reflect the relationships at the foundations of the economy and the polity. There is mutual embedding of the economy within the intertwined collective objectives characterising the polity, and of the polity within the web of material interdependencies characterising the economy. This mutual embeddedness defines the ‘constitution’ of political economy as the pattern of connectivity reflecting the relationship between the political constitution and the economic constitution. This has deep implications for the dynamics of the economy and the polity, as well as for the character and effectiveness of actions by stakeholders in both spheres.
