The German Skills Machine: Sustaining Comparative Advantage in a Global Economy (Policies and Institutions, Vol 3) [Hardcover]

Pepper D. Culpepper (Editor), David Finegold (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Policies and Institutions, Vol 3 | Publication Date: April 2000

In recent years the German economy has grown sluggishly and created few new jobs. These developments have led observers to question the future viability of a model that in the past seemed able to combine economic growth, competitiveness in export markets, and low social inequality. This volume brings together empirical and comparative research from across the social sciences to examine whether or not Germany's system of skill provision is still capable of meeting the economic and social challenges now facing all the advanced capitalist economies. At issue is the question of whether or not the celebrated German training system, an essential element of the high-skill, high-wage equilibrium, can continue to provide the skills necessary for German companies to hold their economic niche in a world characterized by increasing trade and financial interdependence. Combining an examination of the competitiveness of the German training system with an analysis of the robustness of the political institutions that support it, this volume seeks to understand the extent to which the German system for imparting craft skills can adjust to changes in the organization of production in the advanced industrial states.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Pepper D. Culpepper is Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. David Finegold is Research Assistant Professor at the Center for Effective Organizations at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 482 pages
• Publisher: Berghahn Books (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571811443
• ISBN-13: 978-1571811448
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 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: #1,670,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars World Leaders Need to Know This....., February 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The German Skills Machine: Sustaining Comparative Advantage in a Global Economy (Policies and Institutions, Vol 3) (Hardcover)

Professor Culpepper has obviously been blessed not only with the gift of intelligence but keen insight as well. His indepth comparison of the German training model with the challenges of the rapidly changing world we live in today points out the need for change which current world leaders need to recognize. Hopefully, some of his graduate students at the Kennedy School will be exposed to this information and deliver the message around the world. This is not easy reading, but it outlines the difficult challenges faced by the world's worker of the new millineum, articulates the lessons we have learned thus far (both good and bad) in a detailed and comprehensive way, and points toward a positive direction for the future. Not much more one could ask for from a scholar in his first publication. Let us hope there are enough people of influence who will struggle through this, understand it's importance, and pass on this new knowledge to others with a sense of urgency.