varieties of capitalism

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a framework in comparative political economy, developed by Peter Hall and David Soskice in their 2001 volume of the same name, that distinguishes between different national models of capitalist organisation according to how firms coordinate their activities with other economic actors in five institutional domains: industrial relations, vocational training, corporate governance, inter-firm relations, and the internal structure of firms; the framework identifies two ideal types — liberal market economies (the United States, United Kingdom, Australia) which rely primarily on market competition and arms-length contracts, and coordinated market economies (Germany, Japan, Scandinavia) which rely on non-market coordination mechanisms including employer associations, trade unions, and long-term relationships; the framework has stimulated extensive debate about institutional complementarities, comparative advantage, and the convergence or divergence of national capitalisms under globalisation