Economic Ideas, Policy and National Culture

All human beings develop a certain view on the world, and individuals belonging to the same national cultures are likely to develop very similar views with one another. This book explores the economic impacts of shared cultural values, focusing on the wider economies of the USA, Germany, and France.

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.

Autorentext

Eelke de Jong is Professor in International Economics at the Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Inhalt

Part I: Setting the Stage Chapter 1. Introduction and Motivation Chapter 2. National Culture in the Three Types of Market Economies Part II: Economic Ideas Chapter 3 The Morality of the Market Process and the Normative Implications of Catallactic Competition Chapter 4. Markets, Morality, and Human Flourishing in the Ordoliberal Tradition Chapter 5. The Market in the Hierarchical Market Tradition: The Case of Post-war French Economic Thought Part III: Policy Chapter 6. Three Varieties of Labour Markets: Three Varieties of Human Flourishing? Chapter 7. Do National Financial Systems Still Reflect National Values?: The Case of the United States, Germany, and France Chapter 8. Competition Policy within the Free, Hierarchical and Coordinated Market Tradition Chapter 9. Central Bank Independence and Monetary Policy in the US, Germany and France: Have they converged? Part IV: Concluding Remarks Chapter 10. Conclusions and Discussion