Capitalism, characterized by private ownership, coordination through markets, and decentralization, is blamed for a variety of economic, environmental, and social ills. These critiques often confuse capitalism with cronyism, a system of government favoritism toward particular firms. We show how...

We use a stochastic-frontier approach to study the effects of political and regulatory institutions on aggregate productivity in 39 countries from 1975 to 1990. We show that technical efficiency is positively related to policies supporting laissez-faire and political structures that promote...

We use a stochastic-frontier approach to study the effects of political and regulatory institutions on aggregate productivity in 39 countries from 1975 to 1990. We show that technical efficiency is positively related to policies supporting laissez-faire and political structures that promote...