Coordination in Transition

Jeroen Touwen teaches economic and social history at Leiden University. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1997, with the book Extremes in the archipelago: Trade and economic development in the Outer Islands of Indonesia, 1900-1942 (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2001) and since then has published a range of articles on Dutch economic history.

• Acknowledgments ... viiList of Tables and Figures .. viiiList of Abbreviations ... xii1 Introduction: A Tension between Coordination and Competition? ... 1Coordination in the Netherlands ... 1Traditions of Approaching Institutions ... 10Capitalisms Compared ... 172 Growth and Structural Change in the Netherlands and Other OECD Economies ... 33Have 50 Years of Structural Change Lessened the Degree of Coordination? ... 33Economic Growth in the Netherlands after World War II ... 35The ‘Convergence Club’ of Dissimilar OECD Economies ... 44Alternative Indicators of Economic Development ... 52Structural Economic Change and Technological Change ... 62Effects of Technological Change on the Typology of ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ ... 78Conclusion: More Market, not Less Coordination ... 863 At Ease with the Market: Coordination in the Dutch Business System ... 88Characteristics of the Dutch Business System ... 88Business Systems, Culture, Family Firms ... 89The Composition of the Private Sector ... 100Cooperation among Firms ... 104Interlocking Directorates and Other Aspects of Corporate Governance ... 116Eager Globalizer: The Openness of the Dutch Economy ... 123Conclusion: Worldwide Developments and Local Adjustments ... 1354 Corporatism and Pragmatism: Coordination in Labor Relations ... 142Where Did Dutch Coordination Come from and Where Will It Go? ... 142Specific Aspects of Coordination in Labor Relations ... 143The Evolution of the Dutch Consultative System ... 148From Postwar Consensus to Polarization ... 166Institutional Change after the Wassenaar Agreement of 1982 ... 172The Central Position of the SER and the Failure of the Green Polder Model ... 184Labor in a Changing World: The Netherlands in a European Context ... 190Conclusion: A Pragmatist Tradition of Consultation ... 2015 Coordination and Trust: The Dutch Welfare State ... 205Coordination and the Welfare State ... 205The Peculiar Path of the Dutch Welfare State ... 209Monitoring the Levels of Social Spending ... 227Effects of Coordination on the Development of the Dutch Welfare State ... 240Conclusion: Coordinated Interest in Social Protection ... 2486 Economic Policy: In Search of Shared Economic Responsibility ... 250Reconciling Different Agendas ... 250Economic and Social Goals of Dutch Postwar Policy ... 255Changing Policy Priorities During the 1980s and 1990s ... 262Towards a New Type of Capitalism: Privatization, Liberalization, and Reregulation ... 276Effects of Coordination on Government Policy ... 291Conclusion: Coordinated Neoliberal Capitalism ... 3127 Changing Context, Changing Framework ... 316General Conclusions on Coordination ... 316Non-market Coordination in the Netherlands ... 323Towards the Future ... 337Bibliography ... 343Index ... 369

[...] [A]n impressive and voluminous book of which the principal title, Coordination in Transition, neatly captures the key theme [...]. One of the new contributions of this book is that it also analyzes recent economic history of the Netherlands, in contrast with most other Dutch studies that only treat the twentieth century.Also readers with no particular interest in the Dutch case (or those who think they already know the country, for that matter) will find this book worthwhile to read, as each chapter sets out with a broader treatment of theoretical considerations before analyzing the Netherlands, each time accompanied by a comparison with several other western OECD countries; and as the author makes relevant statements about (developments of) LMEs and CMEs in general. [...] The large number of interesting footnotes and references underline the thoroughness and dedication with which the book was written.Annette van den Berg (Utrecht University School of Economics), EH.Net, Book Review (August 2015).