2
Autumn 2016 (Winter 2016/2017)
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Glassmann
Comparative Institutional Analysis
Title: Varieties of Capitalism
MA Readings-Course (Group I)
Date: Wednesdays, 12.00 – 14.00 h, 3 intensive sessions, Fridays (18.11; .02.12; 16.12): 10.00 – 16.00 h
Venue: weekly: HG 033; 18.11.: HG 250; 02.12.: HG 250; 16.12: ZV 009
Start: 26.10.2016
Course description:
Why do some economies specialize primarily in the production of goods in established product markets, for instance machine tools, others rather in new technological fields like biotechnology or semiconductors? In their influential study titled “Varieties of Capitalism” the authors claim that successful patterns of innovation and economic performance result from complementary institutional arrangements in the spheres of corporate governance, industrial relations, vocational training etc. These diverging institutional set-ups are claimed to create different paths of innovation and specific firm strategies. The Varieties of Capitalism account has boosted a large debate in Political Economy about the causal factors which might determine entrepreneurial activity and has renewed considerations on the question whether a superior institutional framework can be identified for economic transactions. In the seminar we will discuss the Varieties of Capitalism account including its theoretical implications, we will analyse critical contributions towards this account and we will explore its explanatory power by looking at in-depth empirical case studies.
Qualification objectives
Students will learn theoretical concepts relevant for the understanding of enterprise strategies. They will analyse empirical studies on the political economy of various country cases. This will deepen their knowledge on the cultural differences of national and regional economies and help them to grasp a better understanding of how firms act depending on their institutional environment and learned cultural practices.
Course logistics:
Students are expected to:
* attend the seminar from beginning to end
* actively contribute to class discussions
* complete assigned readings according to schedule
* write a research paper (15 pages) and give a short presentation (10 minutes) on one of the
topics mentioned in the course desciption. Participants must have sufficient knowledge of
the English language to participate in class and prepare the litreature properly.
Session 1
Introduction to class
Theoretical Accounts on the Institutional Development of Market Economies
Session 2
The Varieties of Capitalism-Account
Hall, Peter; Soskice, David (2001): An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism, in: Hall, Peter; Soskice, David (Hg.): Varieties of Capitalism. The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 1-68.
Session 3
The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism – Critique of the cross-sectional design
Streeck, Wolfgang (2014): Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism. London/ New York: Verso Books, Part One: From Legitimation Crisis to Fiscal Crisis: 45-170.
Session 4
Typologies of Capitalism – Perils and Pitfalls
Crouch, Colin (2009): Typologies of Capitalism, in: Hancké, Bob (Hg.): Debating Varieties of Capitalism. A Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 75-94.
Empirical Analysis
Session 5
Complementary Institutions and Performance
Hall, Peter; Gingrich, Daniel W. (2004): Varieties of Capitalism and Institutional Complementarities in the Macroeconomy. An Empirical Analysis. MPIfG Discussion Paper (04/5). Köln: Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung.
Kenworthy, Lane (2006): Institutional coherence and macroeconomic performance, in: Socio-Economic Review, 4: 69-91.
Session 6
Coordinated Market Economies (CMEs): The Future of the German Model
Streeck, Wolfgang (1991): On the Institutional Conditions of Diversified Quality Production, in: Matzner, Egon/ Streeck, Wolfgang (Hg.): Beyond Keynesianism. The Socio-Economics of Production and Full Employment. Aldershot: Edward Elgar Publishing: 21-61.
Glassmann, Ulrich (2009): Rule-breaking and Freedom of Rules in National Production Models: How German Capitalism Departs from the ‘Rhenish Equilibrium’, in: Crouch, Colin and Voelzkow, Helmut (Hg.): Innovation in Local Economies: Germany in Comparative Context. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 22-42.
Session 7
Liberal Market Economies (LMEs): The Development of the U.S.-Economy
Hollingsworth, J. Rogers (1997): The Institutional Embededdness of American Capitalism, in: Crouch, Colin; Streeck, Wolfgang (Hg.): Political Economy of Modern Capitalism. Mapping Convergence and Diversity. London: Sage Publications: 133-147.
Hacker, Jacob S.; Pierson, Paul (2010): Winner-Take-All Politics. How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned its Back on the Middle Class. New York u.a.: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks: 1-40.
Session 8
Features of Mediterranean Economies (MMEs)
Glassmann, Ulrich (2016): Social Rights, Family Networks and Regional Varieties of Capitalism in Mediterranean Countries. Regional Studies, Vol. 50 (1): 35-51.
Session 9
How many Types? The Dependent Market Economy (DME)
Nölke, Andreas and Vliegenthart, Arjan (2009): Enlarging the Varieties of Capitalism: The Emergence of Dependent Market Economies in East Central Europe, in: World Politics 61 (4): 670-702.
Institutional and Societal Change
Session 10
Does Economic Change Create a New Class Stucture?
Florida, Richard (2002): The Rise of the Creative Class …and how it´s transforming work, leisure, community, & everyday life. New York: Basic Books, Chapter 3: The Creative Economy: 44-66 and Chapter 4: The Creative Class: 67-82.
Session 11
High Technology Production in Coordinated Market Economies: The German Example
Casper, Steven; Lehrer, Mark; Soskice, David (2009): Can High-Technology Industries Prosper in Germany? Institutional Frameworks and the Evolution of the German Software and Biotechnology Industries, in: Hancké, Bob (eds.): Debating Varieties of Capitalism. A Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 200-220
Session 12
Banking Systems – do Varieties of Capitalism take an Influence on Crisis Policy?
Moschella, Manuela (2011): Different varieties of capitalism? British and Italian recapitalization policies in response to the sub-prime crisis, in: Comparative European Politics, 9 (1): 76-99.
Kosmidou, K.; Pasiouras, F.; Zopounidis, C.; Doumpos, M. (2006): A multivariate analysis of the financial characteristics of foreign and domestic banks in the UK, in: Omega. The International Journal of Management Science, 34: 189-195.
Session 13
Employers Interests, Social Policy and Varieties of Capitalism
Swank, Duane; Martin, Cathie Jo (2001): Employers and the Welfare State. The Political Organization of Firms and Social Policy in Contemporary Capitalist Democracies, in: Comparative Political Studies, 34 (8): 889-923.
Session 14
What Remains of State Capitalism? The French Example
Schmidt, Vivien (2003): French capitalism transformed, yet still a third variety of capitalism, in: Economy and Society, 32 (4): 526-554.
Session 15
Conclusions – What have we learnt?