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Ordoliberalism

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Definition

Ordoliberalism is a system of political economy which historically was the German variety of neoliberalism. It arose during the 1930s and 1940s through the efforts of scholars based in Germany, above all the Freiburg School, and of the exiles Wilhelm Röpke and Alexander Rüstow. Ordoliberal political economy searches for “rules of the game” of the economic constitution which enable an efficient and humane order of economy and society. The competitive order is identified as the specific economic constitution which disempowers the economy. Ordoliberalism was foundational for the Social Market Economy and postwar economic prosperity in Germany. Today it is conducted as a research program in institutional and constitutional economics.

Introduction

A multifaceted group of scholars with a research program at the intersection of political economy, law, and social philosophy has become famous since 1950 under the name of “ordoliberalism” (Moeller 1950). The intellectual history of...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wilhelm Röpke Institute, Erfurt and University of Applied Sciences, Zwickau, Germany

    Stefan Kolev

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  1. Stefan Kolev
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Correspondence to Stefan Kolev .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  2. Dept DiGSPES, Univ del Piemonte Orientale Dept DiGSPES, Alessandria, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

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Kolev, S. (2021). Ordoliberalism. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_618-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_618-4

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Ordoliberalism
    Published:
    05 August 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_618-4

  2. Ordoliberalism
    Published:
    23 November 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_618-3

  3. Ordoliberalism
    Published:
    17 April 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_618-2

  4. Original

    Ordoliberalism
    Published:
    02 December 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_618-1

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