The Capitalist Models: Where They Came From and Where They May Go

This commentary discusses two basic models of capitalism.  One is ‘coordinated market capitalism’ (CMC) in which institutions (e.g., national wage-setting or bargaining, business-labour management of social programs) exist to coordinate many of the most important economic decisions and functions.  Examples include most of continental Europe, Japan and the majority of the emerging Asian nations.  The other model is ‘neo-liberal,’ in which the state uses its powers to keep markets as free as possible of intervention; these countries are primarily English-speaking – the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  Mendelson speculates on how countries in the two camps might respond to both good and bad economic scenarios.

ISBN – 1-895796-88-1