Pro-cyclical fiscal policy is considered harmful. Nonetheless, pro-cyclicality is widespread and the cyclicality of fiscal policy isstrongly heterogenous in advanced economies. This paper investigates how differences in the cyclicality of fiscal policy can be understood through the lens of...

This paper investigates the impact of different varieties of capitalism (VoC) on societal happiness. It begins with a critique of Neoclassical welfare economics which emphasizes Pareto optimality, and it argues for focusing on reported societal happiness. The paper identifies five VoC. Using a...

We analyze the dynamics of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the United States (US) and Germany in the 2000s, drawing on the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) framework and the concept of internal capitalist diversity. Using SDC Platinum transaction data from 2000 to 2023 and qualitative insights...

While research on the economic characteristics of growth models across countries is now extensive, research on the politics of growth models is still in its infancy, even though governments routinely pursue different strategies to generate growth. In particular, we lack evidence on (1) whether...

Despite being one of the world's major internationally traded services, tourism remains neglected within debates on European integration and growth models. We highlight the rise of tourism-led growth in southern Europe and argue that the process of European integration has been a double-edged...

This article carries on the research agenda of mapping EU's capitalist diversity by taking an up-to-date snapshot of capitalist types regarding the period between two recent major crises (2014-2019). During the update the research framework has been further improved with more relevant...

Economic integration and globalization are expected to promote economic growth and convergence. This article offers a comparative analysis of the pace of development in terms of GDP per capita in 79 economies from 1970 to 2019. Usually, economic convergence literature aims to establish whether...

While research on the economic characteristics of growth models across countries is now extensive, research on the politics of growth models is still in its infancy, even though governments routinely pursue different strategies to generate growth. In particular, we lack evidence on (1) whether...

Rising inequality in advanced economies is a global challenge and a major factor behind the current wave of geo-political disruption. It has been driven by a polarisation between regions which are creating wealth and benefitting from wealth creation, and those left behind. This justifies a...

How do capitalist institutions vary across countries and regions? How is capitalist diversity related to political and social factors like inequality, representation, and political systems? How do capitalist institutions shape economic outcomes?

China has created a distinct economic system. Yet despite a growing literature with valuable contributions on the institutional arrangements under 'capitalism with Chinese characteristics', the precise economic mechanisms underpinning China's state-market relations remain undertheorised. In this...

We ask why working hours in the rich world have not declined more sharply or even risen at times since the early 1980s, despite a steady increase in productivity, and why they vary so much across rich countries. We use an internationally comparable database on working hours (Bick et al., 2019)...

The varieties of capitalism (VoCs) approach has the potential to transform economics. It implicitly emphasizes the plasticity of economies, whereby their character and outcomes are significantly a matter of choice. This paper augments VoCs theory to include a distinction between varieties and...

We ask why working hours in the rich world have not declined more sharply or even risen at times since the early 1980s, despite a steady increase in productivity, and why they vary so much across rich countries. We use an internationally comparable database on working hours (Bick et al., 2019)...

This working paper investigates unintended consequences of U.S. FDI in Switzerland in the 1950s-1960s: the increased competition that U.S. firms generated within the national labor market and the challenge their hiring practices constituted for the institutional settings in which labor relations...

Disenchantment with global finance in Central-Eastern Europe enabled financial nationalism to emerge as a counter-hegemonic strategy. In Hungary, Prime Minister Orbán put forth his explicit aim to increase domestic ownership in banking to over 50% and legitimized the ensuing re-nationalization...

One view in the literature is that the East Asian economic model is superior to other models in the Global South (i.e. in the developing world), at least in terms of catch-up development and possibly even in innovations beyond the technological frontier. Unlike economic models in Latin America...

This Element reviews varieties of capitalism (VoC) developed by Hall and Soskice and subsequent extensions to emerging markets. The author suggests that by reinvigorating existing ideal types and creating new ones through an analysis of its five variables in a variety of countries VoC can be...

"From 2009 to 2015, the European Union's (EU) euro area experienced an existential socio-economic crisis. To secure its institutional integrity, the EU designed several new institutions to support member states in need but also to facilitate socio-economic adjustments. The European Stability...

This chapter introduces key concepts, debates and research agendas in comparative employment relations (ER). The chapter discusses factors that are discussed that shape ER systems as well as similarities and differences in systems, across countries. It summarises theories that focus on...