The UK: Less a liberal market economy, more a post-imperial one

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Coates
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
The Us ◽  
Global Understanding ◽  
Comparative Capitalisms ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Distinguishing Features ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

This article adds a new element to the growing critique of the original varieties of capitalism (VoC) distinction between liberal and coordinated market capitalisms by questioning the usefulness of the liberal market economy (LME) category itself. It demonstrates that many of the distinguishing features of the LME category are – in the US and UK cases at least – best explained by those economies’ external global and hegemonic role, rather than by their internal institutional complementarities. Imperialism holds the key to liberalism – a key demonstrated here by a detailed examination of the UK case. The lessons for the study of comparative capitalisms are major: a total setting aside of the LME/CME distinction, and a return to the building of a global understanding of capitalism which is more than the sum of its individual parts. In order to understand LMEs, you need to understand imperialism; and to understand imperialism, you have to engage again with a revitalised Marxism.

Left-Turn Ahead in the UK Economy: The Johnson Factor

2021 ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Inna Podkolzina
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Main Risk Factor ◽  
Left Turn ◽  
The Public ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Regulatory Functions ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

The paper identifies the key features and specific nature of the economic strategy adopted by Boris Johnson’s conservative government. The record growth of the public sector net borrowing in the post-war era is viewed as the main risk factor to the strategy implementation. The author concludes that liberal market economy in the UK has been gradually morphing into a coordinated market economy. The paradigm shift expresses itself in the deviation from economic neoliberalism to the idea of ‘one-nation conservatism’ adapted to modern trends. In practice, this means reinforcement of the redistributive and regulatory functions of the state, as well as transition from the consumption-led to export-led growth model.

Varieties of capitalism and the Estonian economy: Institutions, growth and crisis in a liberal market economy

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Feldmann
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Classical Model ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Governance Institutions ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

This article examines Estonia’s economic institutions, performance and vulnerability to the global economic crisis in the context of the varieties of capitalism framework. It shows that Estonia shares many characteristics of a liberal market economy, but that there are also some features which do not fit the classical model, notably its corporate governance institutions. It also suggests that the varieties of capitalism framework can account for key features of Estonia’s economic performance, including its growth trajectory and adjustment to the global financial crisis. The article also reflects on the broader significance of these findings for understanding post-communist capitalism.

scholarly journals Varieties of contestation: The comparative and critical political economy of ‘excessive’ demand

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bailey ◽  
Saori Shibata
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
Mutual Benefit ◽  
Excessive Demand ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Marxist Tradition

This paper agrees with much of the current criticism, especially from Marxist perspectives, which argues that the varieties of capitalism (VoC) approach over-emphasises the degree of harmony and mutual benefit, as well as the absence of class tension and exploitation, within contemporary capitalist relations. It also, however, criticises many of these Marxist critiques on the grounds that they too willingly accept that relations of domination and exploitation are constitutive of contemporary capitalism. In contrast, the present paper draws on alternative positions within the heterodox Marxist tradition to highlight the contestation that invariably disrupts attempts to structure relations of exploitation and domination. Rather than varieties of capitalism, or varieties in capitalism, therefore, we might be better served by seeking to map varieties of contestation. These arguments are developed with reference to empirical sketches of patterns of contestation in Japan and the UK. These are two countries typically considered alternative types of market economy, but instead considered here to evince contrasting patterns of contestation.

scholarly journals The Transformation of Employment Regulation in Greece: Towards a Dysfunctional Liberal Market Economy?

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 344-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Kornelakis ◽  
Horen Voskeritsian
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Employment System ◽  
European Sovereign Debt Crisis ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

Summary Since the eruption of the European sovereign debt crisis, the bailout conditions imposed on Greece have gradually shifted their emphasis from ‘‘tidying up” public finances towards ‘‘improving the competitiveness” of the economy. In the process, collective bargaining has been targeted as one of the priority areas for reform, which resulted in a gradual dismantling of the system. The main aim of this article is to analyse the changes in the institutional framework of employment regulation, using insights from the varieties of capitalism literature. It is argued that the on-going injection of liberal market elements into the Greek employment system is likely to transform Greece into a dysfunctional Liberal Market Economy. The changes in the collective regulation of employment ignore the specificities and idiosyncrasies of the Mediterranean model of capitalism and, thus, are likely to leave the country with the ‘‘worst of both worlds”: suboptimal economic performance and diluted social cohesion. The article is structured as follows. First, the debate on varieties of capitalism is considered in light of the Global Crisis. Second, the basic features of the Greek employment relations’ model are discussed. Third, the transformation of employment regulation after the bailout is examined. Fourth, the evolution towards a dysfunctional Liberal Market Economy is analysed. The final section concludes.

scholarly journals Enlarging the Varieties of Capitalism: The Emergence of Dependent Market Economies in East Central Europe

2009 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 670-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Nölke ◽  
Arjan Vliegenthart
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
East Central ◽  
Successful Model ◽  
Comparative Advantages ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

This article enlarges the existing literature on the varieties of capitalism by identifying a third basic variety that does not resemble the liberal market economy or coordinated market economy types. The dependent market economy (DME) type, as it is named by the authors, is characterized by the importance of foreign capital for the socioeconomic setup and is located in postsocialist Central Europe. Since the collapse of state socialism in the late 1980s, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic have introduced a rather successful model of capitalism when compared with other postsocialist states. This article identifies the key elements of the DME model and discusses their interplay. DMEs have comparative advantages in the assembly and production of relatively complex and durable consumer goods. These comparative advantages are based on institutional complementarities between skilled, but cheap, labor; the transfer of technological innovations within transnational enterprises; and the provision of capital via foreign direct investment.

scholarly journals Austerity and Anti-Austerity: The Political Economy of Refusal in ‘Low-Resistance’ Models of Capitalism

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 683-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bailey ◽  
Saori Shibata
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Alternative Route ◽  
Low Resistance ◽  
Industrial Democracies ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

In contrast to much of the political economy literature, this article explores acts of refusal that obstruct attempts to impose austerity measures on advanced industrial democracies. It thereby complements a literature that has thus far focused far more upon the (apparently unobstructed) imposition of austerity. In doing so, it uses two typically ‘low-resistance’ countries – Japan and the UK –as least-likely cases and finds that austerity is rarely uncontested. Using fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, it highlights the ‘causal recipes’ sufficient for both (1) anti-austerity activity to have a significant impact on austerity proposals and (2) the smooth (unobstructed) imposition of austerity. The politics of austerity is shown to be better understood as an iterative interaction between proposals for austerity and the acts of refusal they encounter. These obstacles to austerity appear more straightforward to activate effectively in Japan’s coordinated model of capitalism, whilst the UK’s liberal market economy tends to generate more innovative forms of dissent that (if they are sufficiently militant) provide an alternative route towards the obstruction of austerity.

scholarly journals Sustainable Varieties of Capitalism? The Greening of Steel Work in Brazil and Germany

2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Doering ◽  
Claire Evans ◽  
Dean Stroud
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
Managerial Practices ◽  
Corporate Strategies ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Comparative Capitalisms ◽  
Distribution Of Power

The aim of this article is to investigate the sustainability agenda and its implications for employment and managerial practices within different institutional contexts. The article uses the comparative capitalisms literature and, in particular, the Varieties of Capitalism framework to examine how multinational corporations (MNCs) can exploit different institutional contexts to achieve competitive advantages. We explore one multinational steel company’s i.e. SteelCo.AG varied responses to the emerging constraints of the sustainability agenda in Germany, as an example of a Coordinated Market Economy, and Brazil, as an example of a Hierarchical Market Economy. In particular, we focus on evidence concerning training, environmental practices and policies in the different company sites. We demonstrate how different institutional contexts favour different corporate strategies from an approach that exploits negative institutional complementarities, such as the “low-skill/low-cost trap,” to one that benefits from strong institutional coherence facilitating skills formation and innovation in response to environ-mental legislation. Our analysis argues for the importance of incorporating the green agenda as a marker of difference into the existing VoC framework. This allows for nuanced readings of unstable institutional complementarities in terms of operational, managerial and social innovation in different institutional contexts – with such analyses essential for understanding workers’ experiences of employment and work. Our contribution to the extant literature on the employment relationship, within the context of VoC analysis, therefore offers empirical material on understandings of employment relations within the HME category, as a new type within the VoC framework, through our discussion of a multinational’s activities in Brazil. This also allows us to focus on the way companies and other actors’ impact upon institutional frameworks and the distribution of power between different actors within particular contexts, thereby addressing recent discussions of the stability and homogeneity of institutional arrangements.

scholarly journals Defining and Regulating Zero Hours Work: Lessons from a Liberal Market Economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Ryan ◽  
Jonathan Lavelle ◽  
Michelle O'Sullivan ◽  
Juliet McMahon ◽  
Caroline Murphy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
National Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Precarious Work ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

The apparent rise in precarious work has received increased attention in a number of countries in recent decades. However, studies highlight the difficulties of both defining and capturing the extent of precarious work. In this paper, we report on a study of zero hours contracts in Ireland and drawing on the varieties of capitalism framework, examine the lessons for both LMEs and CMEs. The study found that zero hours contracts, as defined by Irish legislation, were not common; however, evidence of ‘If and When’ contracts emerged during the course of the research. We outline our key findings showing how information garnered from qualitative research provided nuanced insights on the reality of precarious work, which was not captured in the national data set. This is important for measuring the extent of precarious work in future studies.

scholarly journals Institutional evolution of open and close forms of capitalism – A case of Holland and Japan

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-83
Author(s):  
Jan Krzysztof Solarz
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Varieties Of Capitalism ◽  
Institutional Evolution ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Market System ◽  
Dynamic View ◽  
Economic Stagnation ◽  
Comparative Capitalism ◽  
Oriented System ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

Abstract In the tradition of comparative capitalism, Japan represents a continental banking-oriented system. Holland represents an Anglo-Saxon market system. In Varieties Of Capitalism, Holland and Japan are identified as the same type of Liberal Market Economy (LME) or Coordinated Market Economy (CME). Only a dynamic view presented in this paper explains why Holland and Japan are now LMEs, as they used to be in the years 1868–1930. Holland and Japan used to be CMEs in the years 1910–1970s. The institutional equilibrium of open capitalism in Holland and close capitalism in Japan can explain periods of economic stagnation in the years 1603–2018.

The UK Wimbledon Strategy

2021 ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
Mark Thatcher ◽  
Tim Vlandas
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
Sovereign Wealth Funds ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
State Capital ◽  
The Uk

Although also labelled a ‘liberal’ market economy, the UK has strongly pursued internationalized statism in stark contrast to the US. It has followed a ‘Wimbledon’ strategy of seeking to attract Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) from all over the world even if they take large stakes in prominent British firms. Both formal and informal instruments have been actively used to welcome SWFs, who have taken significant stakes in leading British firms in strategic sectors and bought nationally symbolic buildings and brands. The UK has followed strong internationalized statism thanks to the dominance of the political executive in policy making that has allowed it to frame SWF investments in terms of economic governance rather than national security and the weakness of the legislature in raising concerns. Despite domestic privatizations, it has welcomed overseas state capital that has reinforced existing strategies of aiding privileged sectors such as finance.

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