The world economy is steadily moving towards a multi-polar configuration, with several power centers vying for competitive advantage. We could talk about a “triad” centered on the United States, European Union and China were it not for other large countries (e.g. India, Russia, South Africa) exerting strong regional influence. This more fragmented constellation arises at a time of global challenges – climate change, pandemics, migration, cybersecurity, nuclear proliferation – requiring cooperation and coordination. But the power centers, besides their potential for adversarial relations with each other, bring to those challenges also very different visions and strategies rooted in their own distinct version of capitalism. America's neo-liberal tradition is increasingly facing challenges from a variety of “social-market” mixed-economy models in Europe and the more state-directed “capitalism with Chinese characteristics.” Are these models possibly ever going to converge? Or are they bound to compete with each into sharper juxtaposition? And what does the tension between these two alternative evolutionary paths tell us about the possibilities of collective action in the face of system-threatening problems?
This second-year undergraduate seminar (24 hours) introduces students to debates in the social sciences about the “varieties of capitalism” approach, starting with the influential work edited by political economists Peter Hall and David Soskice, extending to contributions of the French Régulation School (Michel Aglietta, Bruno Amable) and more recent critiques of the VoC approach (Bob Jessop). While briefly taking a closer look at how and why we might analyze the U.S., EU and China as alternative contemporary “models,” we crystallize that alternative typology, more applicable than the original pre-crisis VoC approach of two decades ago, around four issues of great policy concern to get a better idea of how best to adapt VoC and so assure its continued relevance as a central approach in political economy bringing valuable inter-disciplinary insights to bear.
Alexandre GUTTMANN
Séminaire
English
Principles of Economics at L1
Spring 2021-2022
Presentation (33%), Essay (33%), 1 Final Exam (33%)
P. Hall & D. Soskice (2001). Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford University Press.
B. Hancké, M. Rhodes, M. Thatcher (2007). Beyond Varieties of Capitalism: Conflict, Contradiction, and Complementarities in the European Economy. Oxford University Press.
B. Jessop (2011). 'Rethinking the diversity of capitalism: varieties of capitalism, variegated capitalism, and the world market', in G. Wood and C. Lane, eds, Capitalist Diversity and Diversity within Capitalism, Routledge, 209-237