The Evolution of Varieties of Capitalism in Europe.

Against the view that globalization is rendering all developed political economies hybrids, this paper argues that it is still useful to speak of distinctive varieties of capitalism. It substantiates that view by putting the process of 'globalization' in a longer historical perspective that explores the response of four political economies to changes in the international economy since 1945. The cases of Britain, France, Germany and Sweden are examined to assess how each responded to economic challenges in the 1950s, late 1960s-1970s, and 1990s-2000s with an emphasis on three types of problems: the work problem, the wage problem, and the problem of total factor productivity. The paper finds that shifts in the international monetary regime and changes endogenous to the existing institutional structure of the economy were as important as exogenous shocks in posing challenges to the economy and that existing institutions conditioned the nature of the response of firms and governments. It concludes that varieties of capitalism continue to display some distinctive features of importance to economic performance and the distribution of well-being and that those varieties can usefully be thought of as the basis for institutionally-conditioned adjustment paths. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]