Varieties of Capitalism and Growth Models

Field of Research

For the past thirty years, political economy has focused on the analysis of differences in “supply-side institutions” across countries, such as wage bargaining institutions, vocational training, and corporate finance. Recently the field has made a shift by focusing more strongly on how the “demand-side conditions” of the economy explain national differences in economic performance. Research on different growth models – for example, export-led consumption-led – plays a prominent role in the School’s research program. The social coalitions underlying the respective growth models in different countries are of particular interest, which links the analysis of change in economic institutions with the sphere of politics. In particular, research seeks to ascertain how social forces coalesce as political coalitions that shape and sometimes change the trajectory of growth models.

This research connects to the micro-level analyses characteristic of much research in economic sociology and contributes to enhancing the interaction between the two fields. The focus on the relationship between the economy and the political system is further emphasized by research on the economic effects of the institutional structure of political systems. This includes an analysis of both democratic and non-democratic regimes, as well as semi-democratic systems, acknowledging their distinct impacts on economic dynamics. Different election systems, power sharing between the legislative and the executive, the degree of centralization of political decision making, and multi-level governance, for example, all affect the prospect of adapting existing political regulations of the economy to changing economic challenges and social demands. By broadening our scope to encompass a variety of governance models, we gain a more comprehensive understanding of how political structures can shape economic outcomes. The analysis of different forms of capitalism is also a key theme of post-Keynesian economic analysis. The School hosts research projects at the intersection between political economy and post-Keynesian economics, focusing in particular on the relationship between different patterns of inequality and growth models.