Contemporary Capitalism: The Embeddedness of Institutions (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) [Paperback]

J. Rogers Hollingsworth (Editor), Robert Boyer (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0521658063 | ISBN-13: 978-0521658065 0

This book argues that there is no single best institutional arrangement for organizing modern societies. Therefore, the market should not be considered the ideal and universal arrangement for coordinating economic activity. Instead, the editors argue, the economic institutions of capitalism exhibit a large variety of objectives and tools that complement each other and can not work in isolation. The various chapters of the book ask what logics and functions institutions follow and why they emerge, mature and persist in the forms they do.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a stimulating set of essays produced by a distinguished set of contributors." Michael Smith, Canadian Journal of Political Sciences

"This valuable and rich collection of essays challenges the assumption of the self-adjusting market on three major grounds: first, by arguing that economic activity is coordinated bye several different institutional mechanisms and that a variety of capitalist models exist, as opposed to the idea of a single one; second, by stressing Karl Polanyi's notion of the embededness of economic institutions...third, by showing that specific forms of economic coordination are more likely to be used at some level of society...than at others." American Jrnl of Sociology

"This volume brings together a range of important and influential contributions from various disciplines in which this new institutional analysis has been applied." Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal

Book Description

This book argues that there is no single best institutional arrangement for organizing modern societies. Therefore, the market should not be considered the ideal and universal arrangement for coordinating economic activity. Instead, the editors argue, the economic institutions of capitalism exhibit a large variety of objectives and tools that complement each other and can not work in isolation. The various chapters of the book ask what logics and functions institutions follow and why they emerge, mature and persist in the forms they do.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521658063
• ISBN-13: 978-0521658065
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,416,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great, January 7, 2000

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This review is from: Contemporary Capitalism: The Embeddedness of Institutions (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) (Paperback)

I have looked at a series of good books on social embedding of economic practices but I kept and am reading only this one. I am interested in the concept in order to apply it to business practices and software development in periphery countries and I needed a broader framework. The book is very clearly written. It practically reads like a novel, if this is something you are interested in. The models in the introductory section diagram constructs that were previously hard for me to pull together coherently. I haven't finished reading the individual author contributions but after the two introductory papers by the editors I have high expectations.