Theoretical Contexts and Conceptual Frames for the Study of Twenty-First Century Capitalism

This chapter argues that the comparative institutionalist approach requires rethinking in the light of developments in the twenty-first century. The chapter emphasizes the following features of the new environment: first, the rise of the BRIC and the emerging economies; secondly, the changed international regime in which the US is increasingly less hegemonic; thirdly, the financial crisis of 2008 and its impact on the US and other economies; fourthly, the continued decline of the Chandlerian, Fordist form of organization. The chapter argues that this requires a greater emphasis on first, the interaction between actors and institutions; secondly, the diversity of forms of economic coordination and governance; and thirdly, the variety of forms of state in the current period and in particular the variable ways in which they relate to firms and economic development.