The Hardship of Nations: Exploring the Paths of Modern Capitalism(New Horizons in Institutional and Evolutionary Economics series)

After more than two decades of widespread hardship for most nations, what are the different paths available for them to resume steady growth and welfare? Will they actually succeed in building new growth models that meet the challenges of the present phase of internationalisation? This book attempts to answer these questions by analysing different perspectives and discussing the conditions for new national growth trajectories to emerge. The book provides conceptual tools for characterising alternative growth regimes by analysing their institutional backgrounds and political context. Unlike standard convergence theories, the authors argue that the diversity of capitalism is likely to persist as national economies adapt to the forces of globalisation. Still these national paths remain strongly conditioned by the kind of governance set up at both regional and fully international levels. The Hardship of Nations will be of great interest to undergraduates and graduates in the social sciences - economics, political sciences, sociology, geography and management - who require an overview of the debates on growth of national economies in the present stage of globalisation.

Table of Contents:
Contents: General Introduction Benjamin Coriat, Pascal Petit and Geneviève Schméder PART I: A NEW FINANCE-LED CAPITALISM 1. The Future of Capitalism Michel Aglietta 2. The Special Position of the United States in the Finance-led Regime: How Exportable is the US Venture Capital Industry? François Chesnais 3. Moves Towards Finance-led Capitalism: The French Case Benjamin Coriat PART II: ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON CONTEMPORARY CAPITALISM 4. Socio-Institutional Changes in the Post-Fordist Era Pascal Petit 5. Is the New Economy Made in America? Pascal Petit 6. To Have or to Be: A Topological Approach of the Interaction between State and Economy Bruno Théret PART III: REGIONAL PROCESSES UNDER STRAIN 7. The Institutional and Policy Weaknesses of the European Union: The Evolution of the ‘Policy Mix’ Robert Boyer 8. Disruptive Effects of Financial Deregulation: The Japanese and Korean Crises Benjamin Coriat and Patrice Geoffron 9. Argentina’s Structural Crisis Luis Miotti and Carlos Quenan 10. Convergence and Diversity in National Trajectories of Post-Socialist Transformation Bernard Chavance and Eric Magnin PART IV: GLOBAL TENSIONS 11. From the Cold War to the New International Disorder Geneviève Schméder 12. Shadow Economy and Economic Criminalisation in Transition Economies Jacques Sapir 13. Global Geography of Post-Fordism: Knowledge and Polarisation El Mouhoub Mouhoud PART V: CONCLUSION 14. Post-Fordisms in a More Globalised Capitalism Benjamin Coriat, Pascal Petit and Geneviève Schméder Index

About the Author :
Edited by Benjamin Coriat, Professor of Economics, Université Paris 13, Pascal Petit, Emeritus Professor, Université Paris Nord and Geneviève Schméder, Professor, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers and Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, Paris, France