Comparative Economic Systems: Culture, Wealth And Power In The

Description:
Comparative Economic Systems: Culture, Wealth, and Power in the 21st Century explains how culture, in various guises, modifies the standard rules of economic engagement, creating systems that differ markedly from those predicted by the theory of general market competition. This analysis is grounded in established principles, but also assumes that individual utility seeking may be culturally determined, that political goals may take precedence over public well-being, and that business misconduct may be socially detrimental. The book clarifies conceptual misunderstandings about the comparative merit of free competition and perfect governance, showing in many cases how the same results are attainable using either mechanism, or by combining them. It illuminates why engineering variables such as the quantity and quality of fixed and variable inputs, management, entrepreneurship, technological progress, and economic governance do not adequately explain disorders like the increasing poverty of the world's poorest nations. End-of-chapter questions and an extensive glossary enhance the book's utility and enable readers to fully comprehend the key features of each chapter.

Review:
"Now that the transition is over, Professor Steven Rosefielde is bringing back a new and improved version of comparative economic systems, one that treats culture, politics, and business misconduct explicitly in a market context. Rosefielde's approach is original and sophisticated, producing a theoretically rigorous text still accessible to the advanced undergraduate student. Students will learn a large amount of economic theory and come to appreciate the variety of economic systems and the sources of that variety. This is a signal accomplishment by a serious scholar and student of comparative economics." James Millar, George Washington University "This book is an outstanding text to acquaint students with the differences among the world's major economic systems. Its author is one of the best-informed and most careful scholars in the field." Quinn Mills, Harvard Business School "This is an ambitious and innovative work that rigorously and successfully addresses a question that economists often and mistakenly ignore: namely, how do ethics, culture, and politics affect the operation of core economic principles and the relative performance of the major economic systems in the global economy?"Charles Wolf, RAND "Rosefielde provides a forward-looking text that is firmly grounded in the fundamentals of comparative economics but that seizes fully the opportunities offered to the field by the end of the cold war. This is a text that can make comparative economic systems a "must-take" course for every undergraduate and a "must-offer" course for every economics department." Josef C. Brada, Arizona State University

Table of Contents:
Preface.Glossary.Introduction.Part I: Systems1. Comparative Economic Systems.2. Classification and Principles.3. Culture, Politics and Ethics.4. Power.Part II: Perfect Economic Mechanisms5. Perfect Competition.6. Perfect Governance.Part III: Great Powers7. America.8. Continental Europe.9. Japan.10. China.11. Russia.12. Transition.13. Comparative Potential.Part IV: Performance14. Measurement.15. Global Performance.Part V: International Relations16. Security.17. Military Balance.18. Interplay.

Author Biography:
Steven Rosefielde is Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina and a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. He is actively involved in economic systems and global security research with the American, Russian, Swedish and Japanese governments. He is the author of five books, and over one hundred and fifty articles published in periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal, Slavic Review, Journal of Comparative Economics, Soviet Studies and the Review of Russian Economics.