This paper provides an overview of the major macroeconomic problems that have confronted the OECD countries during the last four decades. It also explores some leading arguments regarding the political bases of these problems. An extensive account of the experiences of these countries in terms...

This paper critically examines the debate on corporate governance and the claim (often made in Anglo-American companies) that the close links between German banks and industry are primarily responsible for the longer-term investment strategies and greater quality competitiveness of German...

This paper analyzes the contribution of the German banking system to the modernization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in industry. The simultaneous greater relative importance of and relatively high wages in German SMEs appear to be paradoxical in terms of dual labor market theory,...

Full employment was the centrepiece of the economic policy of social democracy in the post-war period. Whilst the role of Keynesianism in policy making may be exaggerated, it offered the prospect of maintaining full employment without any section of society having to pay. Problems with the...

Most recent discussion of the relationship between the banking system and macroeconomic performance have focused on the deegree of independence of the central bank as the key variable influencing the choice between inflation and unemployment. This paper argues that the stability of the financial...

A widely held view is that, since the 1970s, the nation-state has suffered a significant reduction in its capacity to achieve national economic policy goals through the regulation of the financial system; as a result, national political economies are now characterized by a market-driven...

In January 1995 Austria, Sweden, and Finland became member states of the European Union. All three countries have traditionally given comparatively high priority to environmental protection. This paper deals with the question of what influence the new members will have on environmental...

For the first time ever in the Federal Republic of Germany a mediation procedure on a waste management concept has been carried out. It took place in Neuss in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The interdisciplinary project group, Environmental Mediation, from the Science Centre...

The development of a systematic environmental policy began in Germany over 25 years ago. In the meantime environmental protection has become an established area of policymaking and is still expanding. Nevertheless, state environmental policy is once again subject to severe societal pressure. On...