How Institutions Evolve
The Political Economy of Skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan
1st Edition
Published on 6. November 2006
978-0-511-22766-0 (ISBN)
Description
The institutional arrangements governing skill formation are widely seen as a key element in the institutional constellations defining 'varieties of capitalism' across the developed democracies. This book explores the origins and evolution of such institutions in four countries - Germany, Britain, the United States and Japan. It traces cross-national differences in contemporary training regimes back to the nineteenth century, and specifically to the character of the political settlement achieved among employers in skill-intensive industries, artisans, and early trade unions. The book also tracks evolution and change in training institutions over a century of development, uncovering important continuities through putative 'break points' in history. Crucially, it also provides insights into modes of institutional change that are incremental but cumulatively transformative. The study underscores the limits of the most prominent approaches to institutional change, and identifies the political processes through which the form and functions of institutions can be radically reconfigured over time.
Reviews / Votes
'This book should be required reading for every academic writing about, or conducting research into, skills. ... I can thoroughly recommend this book.' Industrial Relations JournalMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
File size
1,88 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-511-22766-0 (9780511227660)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Kathleen Thelen
How Institutions Evolve
The Political Economy of Skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan
Book
09/2004
Cambridge University Press
€137.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Kathleen Thelen
How Institutions Evolve
The Political Economy of Skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan
Book
09/2004
Cambridge University Press
€45.80
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Kathleen Thelen is Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. She is the author of Union of Parts: Labor Politics in Postwar Germany and co-editor of Structuring Politics: Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Analysis. Her work on labor politics and on historical institutionalism has appeared in, among others, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, The Annual Review of Political Science, Politics and Society, and Comparative Politics. She is chair of the Council for European Studies, and serves on the executive boards of the Comparative Politics, European Politics and Society, and Qualitative Methods sections of the American Political Science Association. She has received awards and fellowships from the Max Planck Society, the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, the Society for Comparative Research, the National Science Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt foundation, the American Scandinavian Foundation, and the German Academic Exchange Program.
Content
1. The political economy of skills in comparative-historical perspective; 2. The evolution of skill formation in Germany; 3. The evolution of skill formation in Britain; 4. The evolution of skill formation in Japan and the United States; 5. Evolution and change in the German system of vocational training; 6. Conclusions, empirical and theoretical.
