Is the European Union Capable of Integrating Diverse Models of Capitalism?

The 2009 European sovereign debt crisis and the EU's policy response have led scholars to question whether diverse national models of capitalism can thrive within the EU. This volume argues that the EU favors export-led growth models while penalizing and discouraging domestic consumption-oriented growth paths, particularly those financed by debt-accumulation. It adds a comparative capitalism perspective to EU integration scholarship to demonstrate that ever-closer union is not capable of accommodating diversity in national economic institutions.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 114 pages
Publication date: 25 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The 2009 European sovereign debt crisis and the European Union's (EU) policy response to it have sparked a re-examination of whether diverse national models of capitalism can coexist within the EU. Are certain national economic systems better equipped to adapt to European integration than others, and if so, why? Contributions to this volume offer a qualified affirmative answer to these questions, concluding that the EU favors export-led growth models while discouraging and penalizing domestic consumption-oriented growth paths, particularly those financed by debt accumulation. The book raises the question of whether the EU can effectively integrate these diverse capitalist regimes.

This volume contributes a comparative capitalism perspective to EU integration scholarship, highlighting that the process of ever-closer union is unable to accommodate diversity in national economic institutions. Chapters within this volume present an innovative framework for understanding the factors that hinder the economic and political integration of diverse European market economies. While recent comparative capitalism literature has emphasized the favorable impact of European monetary integration on export-led growth regimes, contributions in this volume outline that the EU's prioritization of export-led growth over domestic-demand-led growth extends to other aspects of integration, including EU accession, financial integration, the free movement of people, fiscal governance, and the Europe 2020 growth strategy.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of New Political Economy.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367745523