The contemporary debate on economic policy is dominated by the issue of 'which model of capitalism works best'. Which model/models worked best in the past? Which, if any, will work best in the future? This wide-ranging and ambitious study offers the first systematic and multi-disciplinary answer to these key questions. Focusing on the US, UK, Japanese, German and Swedish economies, it documents the degree to which the postwar performance of each was affected by the strength of labour movements, the quality of education and training, the dominance of particular cultural systems, the organization of industry and finance, and the role of the state. In so doing, it effectively challenges prevailing orthodoxies on how capitalist economies function, and demonstrates the inadequacy of existing policy mixes.

Wide ranging in its scholarship and radical in its argument, Models of Capitalism brings the story of each leading economy up to the new millennium and into the age of global capital. It explores the impact of globalization on each model in turn, and explains the diminution in labour rights and working conditions which is now evident in all of them. Breaking down the barriers between social science disciplines and written in a style accessible to the general reader, this study is destined to become a major point of reference for those seeking civilized ways of organizing economic activity in the twenty-first century.

This book is suitable for second- and third-year undergraduate students and postgraduate scholars in political science, economics, management studies and sociology, including those pursuing courses on political economy, industrial relations and trade unions.