Transcript The Airplane as a Collective Invention

Session ECO04 (X-4):
Business Histories and
Varieties of Capitalism
ESSHC, Glasgow
April 11, 2012
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Martin on Varieties of Capitalism
in Denmark and Britain
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“Peak employers associations” – here, national, cross-industry
Finds: the coordinated-market-economy institutions in Denmark result from
political bargains; path-dependent
Detailed account of the players
Possible framing in game theory
 In game with workers, businesses may prefer to keep the politicians out
 Hypotheses: coordination more appealing to existing businesses in times of
change ; and if external opportunities and threats loom larger than labor
conflicts (?)
Qs: What did these associations get from legislation (more exactly)?
 When were anti-cartel, anti-collusion, anti-trust laws passed? Were the peak
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employer associations given explicit relief from them?
Rollings on regulation of dividends in UK
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Regulation intended on behalf of other stakeholders
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Non-for-profit status (in U.S) is an extreme form
May reduce moral hazard of owner/managers?
Analogous to wage restraint (constraint) agreements
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Detailed account ; subject is new to me
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What did the law require or forbid?
Were there analogues in other countries?
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Touwen on corporatism in
Netherlands
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Clear account of relevant institutions (SER, STAR, PBO)
They help labor peace
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Work days lost to strikes or lock-outs were low
In France, 4X as many; in Sweden, 5X; in U.S. 10X; in UK, 13X
Theme: driven by external threats and opportunities (exports)
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Like Japan and “Asian tigers”? What could we generalize?
Is there an underlying bargaining game?
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Did participants see them as efficient institutions?
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Is this system difficult for new businesses and industries?
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Kipping on importing institutions
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Anglo-Amer systems were “successfully” and
were copied (sometimes said: “emitted”)
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