Models of Capitalism : Growth and Stagnation in the Modern Era

The contemporary debate on economic policy is dominated by the issue of 'which model of capitalism works best'.;""Cover""; ""Title Page""; ""Copyright""; ""Contents""; ""Acknowledgements""; ""Preface""; ""Guide to Country Story Lines""; ""1: Capitalist Models and Economic Growth""; ""The pattern of postwar economic growth""; ""The question of capitalist models""; ""The parameters of the study""; ""The shape of the answer""; ""Part I: Capitalist Models: The Arguments""; ""2: Liberal Capitalism: Retreat and Revival?""; ""The erosion of the American dream?""; ""Debating US underperformance""; ""Factors in decline""; ""Paradigm choice""; ""Contradictions of dominance""; ""The UK in retreat"" ""Cover"" ""Title Page"" ""Copyright"" ""Contents"" ""Acknowledgements"" ""Preface"" ""Guide to Country Story Lines"" ""1: Capitalist Models and Economic Growth"" ""The pattern of postwar economic growth"" ""The question of capitalist models"" ""The parameters of the study"" ""The shape of the answer"" ""Part I: Capitalist Models: The Arguments"" ""2: Liberal Capitalism: Retreat and Revival?"" ""The erosion of the American dream?"" ""Debating US underperformance"" ""Factors in decline"" ""Paradigm choice"" ""Contradictions of dominance"" ""The UK in retreat"" ""The data on UK economic performance""""The debate on the UK's decline"" ""3: Trust-based Capitalism: Revival and Retreat"" ""The rise of the Japanese economy"" ""The quiet strength of West German capitalism"" ""In defence of corporatism"" ""Part II: Capitalist Models: The Evidence"" ""4: The Power of Organized Labour"" ""The debate on trade union power"" ""Testing for the union effect"" ""Case studies in labour power"" ""Neo-liberalism in the UK"" ""Corporatism and the Swedish case"" ""Conclusion"" ""5: Education, Training and Culture"" ""Education and training as the keys to economic performance""""The claims"" ""The evidence"" ""Training and growth"" ""Cultural factors and economic growth"" ""The claims"" ""The evidence"" ""Culture, class and power"" ""6: The Organization of Capital in the Pursuit of Growth"" ""The Centre-Left critique of liberal capitalism"" ""Controlling for catch-up and convergence"" ""The need to mobilize capital"" ""The capacity to mobilize capital"" ""The gap between finance and industry in the UK and West Germany"" ""Coordinated capitalism: the Japanese case"" ""A note on trust-based capital isms in the 1990s""""7: The State as an Element in the Growth Equation"" ""Liberal capitalism and the state"" ""The case against the UK state"" ""Industrial policy and the US state"" ""The state and late development"" ""The economic role of the postwar West German state"" ""The Japanese 'developmental state'?"" ""State action in a changing global order"" ""Part III: Conclusion"" ""8: Capitalist Models and the Politics of the Left"" ""Models in disarray"" ""State-led capitalisms: Japan and the Asian tigers"" ""Negotiated/consensual capitalisms: West Germany and Sweden""""Market-led capitalisms: the UK and the US"" ""The globalization of capital and the exploitation of labour"" ""The new politics of the Left"" ""Appendix: Theories of Growth"" ""The debate around neo-classical growth theory"" ""Schumpeterian and post-Keynesian theories of growth"" ""Marxist theories of economic growth"" ""References"" ""Index"" Cover 1 Title Page 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Acknowledgements 10 Preface 11 Guide to Country Story Lines 13 1: Capitalist Models and Economic Growth 15 The pattern of postwar economic growth 16 The question of capitalist models 20 The parameters of the study 25 The shape of the answer 33 Part I: Capitalist Models: The Arguments 35 2: Liberal Capitalism: Retreat and Revival? 37 The erosion of the American dream? 38 Debating US underperformance 46 Factors in decline 46 Paradigm choice 50 Contradictions of dominance 54 The UK in retreat 57 The data on UK economic performance 57 The debate on the UK's decline 60 3: Trust-based Capitalism: Revival and Retreat 67 The rise of the Japanese economy 68 The quiet strength of West German capitalism 78 In defence of corporatism 86 Part II: Capitalist Models: The Evidence 89 4: The Power of Organized Labour 91 The debate on trade union power 91 Testing for the union effect 95 Case studies in labour power 100 Neo-liberalism in the UK 100 Corporatism and the Swedish case 108 Conclusion 115 5: Education, Training and Culture 121 Education and training as the keys to economic performance 121 The claims 121 The evidence 125 Training and growth 132 Cultural factors and economic growth 135 The claims 135 The evidence 140 Culture, class and power 156 6: The Organization of Capital in the Pursuit of Growth 159 The Centre-Left critique of liberal capitalism 159 Controlling for catch-up and convergence 163 The need to mobilize capital 171 The capacity to mobilize capital 177 The gap between finance and industry in the UK and West Germany 181 Coordinated capitalism: the Japanese case 191 A note on trust-based capital isms in the 1990s 201 7: The State as an Element in the Growth Equation 205 Liberal capitalism and the state 206 The case against the UK state 207 Industrial policy and the US state 215 The state and late development 224 The economic role of the postwar West German state 224 The Japanese 'developmental state'? 227 State action in a changing global order 237 Part III: Conclusion 245 8: Capitalist Models and the Politics of the Left 247 Models in disarray 248 State-led capitalisms: Japan and the Asian tigers 248 Negotiated/consensual capitalisms: West Germany and Sweden 253 Market-led capitalisms: the UK and the US 258 The globalization of capital and the exploitation of labour 265 The new politics of the Left 273 Appendix: Theories of Growth 279 The debate around neo-classical growth theory 280 Schumpeterian and post-Keynesian theories of growth 282 Marxist theories of economic growth 285 References 288 Index 315 The contemporary debate on economic policy is dominated by the issue of "which model of capitalism works best". Which model/models worked best in the past? Which, if any, will work best in the future? This wide-ranging study offers a systematic and multi-disciplinary answer to these key questions. Focusing on the US, UK, Japanese, German and Swedish economies, it documents the degree to which the postwar performance of each was affected by the strength of labour movements, the quality of education and training, the dominance of particular cultural systems, the organization of industry and finance, and the role of the state. In so doing, it effectively challenges prevailing orthodoxies on how capitalist economies function, and demonstrates the inadequacy of existing policy mixes. Wide ranging in its scholarship and radical in its argument, "Models of Capitalism" brings the story of each leading economy up to the new millennium and into the age of global capital. It explores the impact of globalization on each model in turn, and explains the diminution in labour rights and working conditions which is now evident in all of them "Wide ranging in its scholarship and radical in its argument, Models of Capitalism brings the story of each leading economy up to the new millennium and into the age of global capital. It explores the impact of globalization on each model in turn, and explains the diminution in labour rights and working conditions which is now evident in all of them."--Jacket

The contemporary debate on economic policy is dominated by the issue of 'which model of capitalism works best'.

Amid the optimism of a new century, the legacies of the past still lie like a nightmare on the brain of the living.