Frederic L. Pryor received his Ph.D. in economics from Yale University. Although his primary base for more than 35 years has been Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, he has also taught or carried out research at the University of Michigan, the University of California, the University of Indiana, Yale University, and several universities in Switzerland and France. His academic writings include 13 books in the field of economic systems and more than 120 articles in professional journals. As a consultant, Professor Pryor has held a variety of positions for the World Bank, the State of Pennsylvania, the Danish government, several departments of the US government, the Soros International Economic Advisory Group, the Hoover Institution, the Brookings Institution, and the Wissenschaftzentrum Berlin. At present he is a Senior Research Scholar at Swarthmore College. He also serves on the boards of several non-profit institutions.

Review of the hardback: 'This timely book delivers an intelligent yet accessible analysis of diverse contemporary capitalist economic systems. Which countries and systems are more productive, and where are people happiest? Is regulation the answer or the problem? Where is the world economy headed? Pryor gives careful and honest answers to these and many other questions.' Avner Ben-Ner, University of Minnesota

• 1. Introduction; 2. What is capitalism?; 3. Origins of capitalism; 4. Varieties of capitalism in industrialized nations; 5. Cultural influences on the economic system; 6. Do some capitalist economic systems perform better than others?; 7. Happiness and capitalist economic systems; 8. How capitalism will change.