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". 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 Amid the optimism of a new century, the legacies of the past still lie like a nightmare on the brain of the living. David Coates. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.