Dynamics of German Industry

Werner Abelshauser taught European History at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy. He now holds the Chair in Economic History at the Faculty of History and Philosophy at the University of Bielefeld and is one of the directors of the Bielefeld Institute for Global Society Studies. His publications include books and articles on the history of European integration, economic history, and business history.

“This book is to be welcomed primarily because it provides an opportunity for nonspecialists to familiarize themselves with Abelshauser's important ideas. It can also arouse serious discussion about an economic historian's attempt to use history to inform a present debate readers should find encouragement in this book to explore Abelshauser's other great scholarship in detail.” • Journal of Interdisciplinary History“… a provocative, historically grounded contribution to the globalization debate. And this is what makes the book attractive: no doubt it is stimulating, even one does not concur with the author in all his conclusions.” • Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte

• List of Figures and TablesIntroductionChapter 1. A living PastBeyond "The End of History"The Splendor and Misery of Rhine CapitalismChapter 2. The German Empire - Hothouse of Postindustrial InstitutionsFrom Liberalism to the Coordinated Production RegimePatterns of Socialization Compared: The Economies of Germany and Great Britain – Germany—The First Postliberal Nation – From Autonomy to Self-Governance—The German Path to Industrial Development – Market and State – No AntagonismInterest Intermediation between Societal and State Corporatism – The Century of Corporatism – The Failure of State Corporatism in the German Empire – Cartels—Market Regulation German Style – Societal Corporatism in the Weimar RepublicChapter 3. The German Production RegimeThe Production Regime of the Coordinated Market Economy – Institutional Prerequisites of Diversified Quality Production – Coordinated Market EconomyThe American Challenge – The Fordist Alternative – Fordist Strategic Approaches in the German Automotive Industry between the World Wars – Fordism during the War: The Krupp Case – Breakthrough to Mass Consumption – “West German Fordism”: The Volkswagen Case – The End of Mass ProductionCodetermination: The German Response to the Agency ProblemSocial Market Economy: Production-Related Design of the Organization and Rules of the EconomyChapter 4. The German Road to the Twenty-first CenturyMany Roads Lead to RomeAnachronisms of the “Economic Miracle”Strengths and Weaknesses of the German Production RegimePostscriptSelect BibliographyIndex