Suchergebnisse

AbstractDue to the (relatively) small scale of the Norwegian food industry, Private Equity capital is deeply involved in the structural development of the sector through acquisitions and takeovers. The Norwegian social‐democratic model of agriculture, with its attempts to maintain farming all over the country, struggles with comparative disadvantages in productivity and Private Equity capital is investing in direct competition with farmer co‐operatives. An outline of the socioeconomic characteristics of the Norwegian model as well as those of Private Equity illuminates why they both fit well together. Thus, we argue in this article that it is the Norwegian model of agriculture, with its non‐market based elements, that today attracts finance capital and discuss whether this involvement of finance capital can be considered as a process of financialisation. Findings based on analysis of case‐studies of Private Equity buyout in the agro‐food industry suggest that the economic motives of Private Equity takeovers are based on a combination of typical industry capitalism with investments in productivity and efficiency, rather than merely financialisation. Findings are interpreted in a variety of capitalism framework combining social theory on financialisation with business school theories on Private Equity transactions.

Es handelt sich um einen ergänzenden Online-Anhang zur Publikation Michael Hoelscher: Hochschullehre zwischen Varieties of Capitalism und internationaler Konvergenz. Veröffentlicht in: Rosenmund, Moritz, Regula Julia Leemann, Christian Imdorf und Philipp Gonon (2013): Change and reforms in educational systems and organizations. Special Issue 2013 of the Swiss Journal of Sociology (39/2) Der Beitrag überprüft, ob sich nationale Unterschiede in der Hochschulbildung auf verschiedene Varieties of Capitalism zurückführen lassen. Ausgehend von neo-institutionalistischen Überlegungen und aktuellen Befunden wird zunächst konstatiert, dass globale Modelle zunehmend Einfluss auf nationale Hochschulsysteme entwickeln und zu Konvergenzprozessen führen. Die politische Diskussion betrachtet dies häufig als ökonomisch sinnvoll. Der Varieties of Capitalism-Ansatz legt hingegen nahe, dass sich Hochschulbildung international aufgrund von Komplementaritäten zwischen Wirtschafts- und Hochschulsystem klar unterscheiden sollte. Der Autor kann diese Komplementaritäten anhand einer empirischen Analyse der international vergleichenden REFLEX-Studie nachweisen. In einem letzten Abschnitt werden mögliche Konsequenzen aktueller Reformen vor diesem Hintergrund diskutiert.

This book is a critical contribution to the discussion on varieties of capitalism. In contrast to the mainstream VoC literature it does not have principal problems to map capitalist diversity and to understand institutional change. Its differentia specifica is the strict distinction between idealtypical and empirical varieties of capitalism and the presentation of the latter as open and relatively loosely ordered social systems (or system-like configurations). Systemness is required for competitiveness while openness, on the opposite side, stems from relatively autonomous parts (particularly companies), the possibility of equifunctional arrangements, uncertainty about functional solutions and contested goals of social development (e.g. competitiveness versus equality and environmental care). The book develops four ideal-typical varieties (liberal, statist, corporatist and meso-communitarian capitalism) and analyses the parallelism of path continuity and change but also the performances of empirical capitalisms in the contexts of globalization, Europeanization, social-structural individualization and the ideological dominance of neo-liberalism.

The paper reviews the origins of the comparative study of capitalism and of the diverse approaches applied to it in contemporary political economy. It distinguishes four models accounting for differences in the institutional make-up of national capitalist economies, which it refers to as the social embeddedness, power resource, historicalinstitutionalist, and rationalist-functionalist model, respectively. Special attention is given to the rationalist-functionalist account of capitalist variety and its reception in the research literature. The paper concludes with remarks on the likely effect of the global financial crisis after 2007 on theories of political economy in general and of 'varieties of capitalism' in particular. It argues that in future the commonalities and interdependencies of national capitalisms deserve and are likely to receive more attention than their differences. ; Der Aufsatz beschreibt die Ursprünge der vergleichenden Kapitalismusforschung und deren unterschiedliche Ansätze in der gegenwärtigen politischen Ökonomie. Vier Modelle zur Erklärung der Unterschiede in der institutionellen Verfassung nationaler kapitalistischer Systeme, die als Einbettungs-, Machtressourcen-, historisch-institutionalistisches und rationalistisch-funktionalistisches Modell bezeichnet werden, werden miteinander verglichen. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt dem rationalistisch-funktionalistischen Modell und seiner Rezeption in der Forschungsliteratur. Der Aufsatz schließt mit Bemerkungen zum wahrscheinlichen Einfluss der globalen Finanzkrise nach 2007 auf die Theoriebildung in der politischen Ökonomie und insbesondere die 'Varieties of Capitalism'-Debatte. Vermutet wird, dass in Zukunft die Gemeinsamkeiten und Interdependenzen zwischen den nationalen kapitalistischen Systemen mehr Aufmerksamkeit erfordern und erhalten werden als die Unterschiede.

The paper reviews the origins of the comparative study of capitalism and of the diverse approaches applied to it in contemporary political economy. It distinguishes four models accounting for differences in the institutional make-up of national capitalist economies, which it refers to as the social embeddedness, power resource, historicalinstitutionalist, and rationalist-functionalist model, respectively. Special attention is given to the rationalist-functionalist account of capitalist variety and its reception in the research literature. The paper concludes with remarks on the likely effect of the global financial crisis after 2007 on theories of political economy in general and of "varieties of capitalism" in particular. It argues that in future the commonalities and interdependencies of national capitalisms deserve and are likely to receive more attention than their differences.

This book devises an innovative new way of explaining how socioeconomic orders shape capitalism in Asia. Hundt and Uttam go beyond both the 'varieties of capitalism' approach, which is mainly used to analyse Western capitalism, and the 'developmental state' thesis, which is the primary framework for analysing capitalism in Asia, and propose a new and innovative approach to the emergence of capitalist systems. Rather than focusing solely or predominantly on the state, they argue, it is necessary to bring society back in to an analysis of capitalism. The authors apply this approach to case studies from across the region: Japan; South Korea and Taiwan; Hong Kong and Singapore; Malaysia and Thailand; and India and China. This volume will appeal to historians, political scientists and economists, as well as policymakers, who are interested in the transformation of the Asian region since World War II.

Dedication -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Chapter 1: Political Institutions and Varieties of Capitalism -- Capitalism -- Diversity in Capitalist Systems -- Explanations of Capitalist Diversity -- Benefits and Limitations of the VOC Framework -- A New Theoretical Approach -- Conclusion -- Note -- References -- Chapter 2: A Political Approach to Explaining Variation in Capitalist Systems -- Academic Lineage -- Neocorporatism -- "Bringing the State Back In" -- The Rise of Global Business -- Europeanization -- Varieties of Capitalism -- Critiques of the Varieties of Capitalism Framework -- Questioning a Binary Dichotomy -- Questioning the Cause of Capitalist Diversity -- Political Regimes and Varieties of Capitalism -- Debating the Causal Arrow -- A Proposed Causal Process -- Independent Variables and Hypotheses -- Partisanship and Policy Legacies -- Effective Number of Political Parties -- Cabinet Structures -- Electoral Systems -- Constitutional Structures -- Dependent Variables -- Overarching Measures of Market Coordination -- Economic Arenas of Varieties of Capitalism -- Corporate Governance -- Industrial Relations -- Vocational Training and Education -- Inter-Firm Relations -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 3: A Mixed-Method Approach to Capitalist Variation -- Mixed-Methods -- Quantitative Analysis -- Modeling Strategy -- Quantitative Case Selection and Time Frame -- Limitations of Quantitative Methods -- Qualitative Analyses -- Qualitative Case Selection and Time Frame -- Institutional Change on Economic Structures: New Zealand -- A Note on Qualitative Data -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 4: Quantitative Analysis of Varieties of Capitalism -- Chapter Outline -- Cross-Sectional Analysis -- Political Institutions and Market Coordination -- Political Institutions and Economic Arenas