Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage

by Peter A. Hall (Editor), David Soskice (Editor)

Overview

What are the most important differences among national economies? Is globalization forcing nations to converge on an Anglo-American model? What explains national differences in social and economic policy? This pathbreaking work outlines a new approach to these questions. It highlights the role of business in national economies and shows that there is more than one path to economic success. The book sets a new intellectual agenda for everyone interested in relations between politics, economics, and business.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199247745
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/08/2001
Pages:	556
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Harvard University

Duke University and

Table of Contents

List of FiguresList of TablesList of Contributors1. An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism, Peter A. Hall and David SoskicePart I: General Themes and Diverse Applications2. Varieties of Labor Politics in the Developed Democracies, Kathleen Thelen3 Institutional and Sectoral Interactions in Monetary Policy and Wage/Price-Bargaining, Robert J. Franzese, Jr.4. Social Protection and the Formation of Skills: A Reinterpretation of the Welfare State, Margarita Estevez-Abe, Torben Iversen, and David Soskice5. Firms and the Welfare State: When, Why and How Does Social Policy Matter to Employers?, Isabela Mares6. The Domestic Sources of Multilateral Preferences: Varieties of Capitalism in the European Community, Orfeo FioretosPart II: Case Studies in Public Policy, Continuity, and Change7. Business, Government, and Patterns of Labor Market Policy in Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany, Stewart Wood8. Employers, Public Policy, and the Politics of Decentralized Cooperation in Germany and France, Pepper D. Culpepper9. Revisiting the French Model: Coordination and Restructuring in French Industry, Bob Hanck^d'ePart III: Corporate Governance, Firm Strategy, and the Law10. Varieties of Corporate Governance: Comparing Germany and the UK, Sigurt Vitols11. Macro-varieties of Capitalism and Micro-varieties of Strategic Management in European Airlines, Mark Lehrer12. The Legal Framework for Corporate Governance: The Influence of Contract Law on Company Strategies in Germany and the United States, Steven Casper13. Legal Irritants: How Unifying Law Ends up in the New Divergences, Gunther Teubner14. National Varieties of Standardization, Jay TateBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"With this book Peter Hall and David Soskice are opening a new chapter in the analysis of contemporary capitalism. They have succeeded in bringing together in one compelling formulation historical - institutional and rationalist - individualist analytical perspectives. The empirical applications in Varieties of Capitalism illuminate in a profound way how both scholars and policy makers will benefit when they link macro- and micro-level analyses across the many different sectors that define contemporary capitalism in its many forms. Economists and political scientists, finally, are able to meet on common ground. This book will become a classic in the field."— Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies, Cornell University.

"This invaluable contribution to the comparative capitalism literature vigorously argues against the notion of convergence so popular in the globalism debates. The authors expand our understanding of national "production systems" to see new connections and show that the differences aong them allow countries to pursue distinctly different strategies of international competition. A must read."—Peter Gourevitch, University of California, San Diego

"This book has been well worth waiting for. It demonstrates the wealth of insights that could be achieveed through Soskice's innovative research program that began to chang the agenda of Comparative POlitical Economy more than a decade ago. The volume combines a definitive restatement of the varieties of cpitialism approach with illuminative applications to the range of research areas covered by it with some fascinating theoretical extensions. Excellent!"— F.W. Scharpf, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne

From the Publisher