1st Edition
Economic Ideas, Policy and National Culture A Comparison of Three Market Economies
All human beings develop a certain view on the world. Inhabitants of the same country are likely to develop similar worldviews. The common part of these views constitutes the country’s national culture. Consequently, academic economists, policymakers, and the population at large are consistently exposed to the same opinions on the preferred way of organizing an economy. This book explores the economic impacts of these shared cultural values, focusing on the economies of the United States of America, Germany, and France.
These three countries broadly represent three different types of economic organization and their corresponding economic ideologies: a free market economy, a coordinated market economy, and a hierarchical market economy. The contributors to this edited volume have examined the extent to which the shared worldviews between academic economists, policymakers, and the wider population impact these economies. In particular, the chapters investigate the consequences for the design of the labor market, the financial system, competition policy, and monetary policy. The work also explores the extent to which the shared views on national culture and economic systems and policies in these countries contribute to the population’s well-being overall.
This book makes an invaluable contribution to the literature on comparative economics, economic policy, well-being and cultural economics.
Part I: Setting the Stage
Chapter 1. Introduction and Motivation
Eelke de Jong
Chapter 2. National Culture in the Three Types of Market Economies
Eelke de Jong and Annemiek Schilpzand
Part II: Economic Ideas
Chapter 3 The Morality of the Market Process and the Normative Implications of Catallactic Competition
Rosolino A. Candela
Chapter 4. Markets, Morality, and Human Flourishing in the Ordoliberal Tradition
Roland Fritz and Nils Goldschmidt
Chapter 5. The Market in the Hierarchical Market Tradition: The Case of Post-war French Economic Thought
Ivan Boldyrev
Part III: Policy
Chapter 6. Three Varieties of Labour Markets: Three Varieties of Human Flourishing?
Lei Delsen
Chapter 7. Do National Financial Systems Still Reflect National Values?: The Case of the United States, Germany, and France
Eelke de Jong
Chapter 8. Competition Policy within the Free, Hierarchical and Coordinated Market Tradition
Iwan Bos
Chapter 9. Central Bank Independence and Monetary Policy in the US, Germany and France: Have they converged?
Eelke de Jong
Part IV: Concluding Remarks
Chapter 10. Conclusions and Discussion
Eelke de Jong
Biography
Eelke de Jong is Professor in International Economics at the Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
"This unique book offers a comparative analysis of three market economics – the United States, Germany and France – providing valuable insights into how economic ideas, embedded in national cultures, shape policy-making. It is mandatory reading for anyone trying to understand why markets and welfare arrangements take different forms."
- Niclas Berggren, Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN) and Prague University of Business and Economics
"This book is a must read for scholars interested in comparative analysis of economic systems in Western countries and their roots in economic ideas and culture. It provides a unique and thorough analysis of the free market traditions in US, Germany and France, and how they work out in economic policies and practices."
- Johan J. Graafland, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
"This book relates the economic system of Western societies to their cultural background in an innovative, fresh way. It’s central thesis—that cultural differences are reflected in the dominant economic theories in France, Germany and the USA—is thought-provoking and sheds new light on the evolution of schools of economics. This book is of interest to both scholars of cultural economics and historians of economic thought."
- Robbert K.J. Maseland, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
