Capitalisms compared : welfare, work, and business

Introduction. Comparing political economies : markets, politics, and institutions ; Welfare states : welfare state or social security state? ; "Varieties of capitalism : business institutions and strategies ; The plan of this book -- Health Policy. Is health care a commodity? ; Germany : Private practice and universal coverage ; Sweden : a right to high quality health care ; United States : incomplete coverage through private and public insurance ; Comparing systems and outcomes -- Pension policy. Paying as you go : where do pensions come from? ; Germany : earnings-related public pensions ; Sweden : public pensions with "notional" accounting ; United States : a public-private pension mix with precarious retirement ; Comparing systems and outcomes -- Family policy. Bringing families back in ; Sweden : paid parental leaves and universal public child care ; Germany : moving beyond the male breadwinner model ; United States : juggling work and family through the market ; Comparing policies and outcomes -- The labor market. Human effort as a commodity : the distinctive features of labor markets ; Sweden : flexible centralization? Germany : codetermination and coordinated bargaining ; United States : bargaining among unequals ; Comparing systems and outcomes -- Corporate governance and finance. In whose interests? Shareholders versus stakeholders ; United States : stock market capitalism run amok? ; Germany : patient capital and bank control ; Sweden : capitalist enterprise without capitalists? ; The financial crisis of 2008-2009 and its aftermath ; Conclusion -- The viability of alternative forms of capitalism. Globalization and the economic feasibility of alternative capitalisms ; Neoliberalism and the political feasibility of alternative capitalisms ; Conclusion : but not in the United States?