This pioneering Handbook offers a state-of-the-art exploration of the social structure of accumulation theory, a leading theory of stages of capitalism, expertly summarising its development to date. It breaks new ground in several areas, including econometric evidence for the theory and developing institutional analyses of technology and the environment. Expert international contributors offer an in-depth treatment of the theory of social structures of accumulation, extending this analysis to areas of the world where the application of the theory has previously been underexplored such as Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and India. It offers a detailed discussion of global neoliberalism, and many of the important individual institutions constituting social structures of accumulation, including in the areas of criminal justice, urban policy, technology, and corporate management. Thought-provoking and insightful, the new ground covered in this Handbook will be a key resource for heterodox economists who are interested in social structures of accumulation, long waves, and stages of capitalism. The comprehensive background analysis on current issues will also be of interest to sociologists,political scientists, and historians.

This volume analyses contemporary capitalism and its crises based on a theory of capitalist evolution known as the social structure of accumulation (SSA) theory. It applies this theory to explain the severe financial and economic crisis that broke out in 2008 and the kind of changes required to resolve it. The editors and contributors make available new work within this school of thought on such issues as the rise and persistence of the neoliberal, or free-market, form of capitalism since 1980 and the growing globalization and financialization of the world economy. The collection includes analyses of the U.S. economy as well as that of several parts of the developing world.

The social structure of accumulation (SSA) approach seeks to explain the long-term fortunes of capitalist economies in terms of the effect of political and economic institutions on growth rates. This book offers an ideal introduction to this powerful tool for understanding capitalist growth, analysing the social and economic differences between countries and the reasons for the successes and failures of institutional reform. The contributors cover a wide range of topics, including the theoretical basis of the SSA approach, the postwar financial system, Marxian and Keynesian theories of economic crisis, labour-management relations, race and gender issues, and the history of institutional innovation. Combining newly written essays with classic articles of the SSA school, the book examines the international economy and the economies of Japan, South Africa, and Puerto Rico, as well as the United States.

The financial and economic collapse that began in the United States in 2008 and spread to the rest of the world continues to burden the global economy. David Kotz, who was one of the few academic economists to predict it, argues that the ongoing economic crisis is not simply the aftermath of financial panic and an unusually severe recession but instead is a structural crisis of neoliberal, or free-market, capitalism. Consequently, continuing stagnation cannot be resolved by policy measures alone. It requires major institutional restructuring. "Kotz's book will reward careful study by everyone interested in the question of stages in the history of capitalism." -Edwin Dickens, Science & Society "Whereas [others] suggest that the downfall of the postwar system in Europe and the United States is the result of the triumph of ideas, Kotz argues persuasively that it is actually the result of the exercise of power by those who benefit from the capitalist economic organization of society. The analysis and evidence he brings to bear in support of the role of power exercised by business and political leaders is a most valuable aspect of this book-one among many important contributions to our knowledge that makes it worthwhile." -Michael Meeropol, Challenge

In this two-volume set, the editors present seminal articles by leading SSA scholars describing the development of SSA Theory and its wider application. The first volume offers an introduction to SSA theory and covers the historical context, the founding documents of the approach, subsequent theoretical and empirical developments, the relationship between SSA theory and related approaches, and an introduction to the work of Bowles, Gordon and Weisskopf on the rise and demise of the postwar SSA. The second volume examines extensions to the SSA literature: applying SSA analysis to countries outside the United States, placing the history of a wider range of institutions within an SSA framework and current use of SSA analysis. The editors' comprehensive original introduction illuminates the state of SSA Theory up to the present and considers its future applications within further historical and theoretical contexts and in analysing and understanding the unfolding economic turmoil which began in 2007-2008.

This volume analyses contemporary capitalism and its crises based on a theory of capitalist evolution known as the social structure of accumulation (SSA) theory. It applies this theory to explain the severe financial and economic crisis that broke out in 2008 and the kind of changes required to resolve it. The editors and contributors make available new work within this school of thought on such issues as the rise and persistence of the neoliberal, or free-market, form of capitalism since 1980 and the growing globalization and financialization of the world economy. The collection includes analyses of the U.S. economy as well as that of several parts of the developing world.

The social structure of accumulation (SSA) approach seeks to explain the long-term fortunes of capitalist economies in terms of the effect of political and economic institutions on growth rates. This book offers an ideal introduction to this powerful tool for understanding capitalist growth, analysing the social and economic differences between countries and the reasons for the successes and failures of institutional reform. The contributors cover a wide range of topics, including the theoretical basis of the SSA approach, the postwar financial system, Marxian and Keynesian theories of economic crisis, labour-management relations, race and gender issues, and the history of institutional innovation. Combining newly written essays with classic articles of the SSA school, the book examines the international economy and the economies of Japan, South Africa, and Puerto Rico, as well as the United States.

"Truly a distinguished piece of work, based on new data that had not been analyzed before. There is an excellent combination of historical perspective, conscientious examination of a great mass of data, and penetrating analysis." --Robert Aaron Gordon, Charter Member of the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity "Contends that since the Second World War, a small number of 'giant, well-established' banks in a few major cities have re-emerged as the major group that controls large corporations. Places the financial control thesis in historical perspective from the Civil War to the present and then examines the control of the two hundred largest U.S. corporations in 1967-69 in terms of owner control, financial control, and no identified center of control. Also comments on the means of exercising control...the author finds that a substantial portion of the largest nonfinancial corporations in 1967-69 were under the control of financial institutions; the control is exercised through the ownership of stock and the role of the bankers as creditors of the corporations." --Journal of Economic Literature "Recent empirical evidence, made available through congressional hearings, reveals that large banking groups are exercising substantial influence over nonfinancial corporations. This is accomplished through stockholdings, creditor relationships, and directorship ties. In this excellent historical statistical analysis, Katz assesses the extent and impact of such control in a competitive economy." --Library Journal