The politics of choice among national production systems
L’Année de la Régulation, 2002
What explains the substantial divergence we observe in the way market economies structure their firms? Recent research on comparative capitalism sees the development of distinctly different national production systems (NPS). While the labels are different and at times the analytic categories vary regulatory models, culture and nationality, corporate governance, labor-management relations, as some examples, by and large researchers agree on the main descriptive features of these systems and on many aspects of how they work. This allows us to move to the question of explanation and the role of politics. What political factors could account for the variance we observe among national production systems? What are the political causes that shape a country’s choice of one system rather than another? This paper focuses on three types of political mechanisms: political institutions, interest group preferences, and social networks.
Recommended citation: Gourevitch, P., & Hawes, M. (2002). The politics of choice among national production systems. L’Année de la Régulation, 6, 241-270.
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