Skip to main content

Contemporary Capitalism

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Book cover The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
  • 97 Accesses

Abstract

The key to understanding ‘capitalism’ as a mode of resource allocation that generates economic growth is the organization and performance of its most innovative business enterprises. The ‘Old Economy business model’ that made the United States the world’s most powerful nation in the post-Second World War decades came under challenge in the 1970s and 1980s, and the ideology of ‘maximizing shareholder value’ arose to legitimize a redistribution of income from labour interests to financial interests. The ‘New Economy business model’ emerged in the 1980s and 1990s to drive the innovation process, contributing, however, to unstable and inequitable economic growth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 6,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 8,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • To conserve both the word-count and flow of this essay, I have kept bibliographic references to a minimum, indicating instead works of mine in which these references can be found.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, M., W. Lazonick, and M. O’sullivan. 2003. The stock market and innovative capability in the New Economy: The optical networking industry. Industrial and Corporate Change 12: 963–1034.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Council of Economic Advisers. 2006. Economic report of the president, 2006. Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President.

    Google Scholar 

  • Electronic News. 2005. US could lose race for nanotech leadership, SIA panel says. 16 March. Online. Available at http://www.reed-electronics.com/electronicnews/article/CA511197?nid=2019&rid = 1344283927. Accessed 5 Sept 2006.

  • Lazonick, W. 2003. The theory of the market economy and the social foundations of innovative enterprise. Economic and Industrial Democracy 24: 9–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazonick, W. 2004. Corporate restructuring. In The Oxford handbook of work and organization, ed. S. Ackroyd et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazonick, W. 2005. The institutional triad and Japanese development [translated into Japanese]. In The contemporary Japanese enterprise, vol. 1, ed. G. Hook and A. Kudo. Tokyo: Yukikaku Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazonick, W. 2006a. Evolution of the new economy business model. In Internet and digital economics, ed. E. Brousseau and N. Curien. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazonick, W. 2006b. Globalization of the ICT labor force. In The Oxford handbook on ICTs, ed. R. Mansell et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazonick, W. 2006c. Innovative enterprise and economic development. In Business performance in twentieth century: a comparative perspective, ed. Y. Cassis and A. Colli. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazonick, W. 2006d. The US stock market and the governance of innovative enterprise. INSEAD: Working paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazonick, W., and M. O’sullivan. 2000. Maximizing shareholder value: a new ideology for corporate governance. Economy and Society 29: 13–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • New York Times. 1996. The downsizing of America. New York: Times Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’sullivan, M. 2000. The innovative enterprise and corporate governance. Cambridge Journal of Economics 24: 393–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pisano, G. 2006. The science bsiness: Strategy, organization, and leadership in biotechnology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saxenian, A. 2006. The new argonauts: Regional advantage in a global economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. 1934. The theory of economic development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. 1950. Capitalism, socialism and democracy. 3rd ed. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wbur.org. 2006. Sharpening the cutting edge. On Point. 9 February. Online. Available at http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2006/02/20060209_b_main.asp. Accessed 5 Sept 2006.

  • Whyte, W. 1956. The organization man. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Copyright information

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Lazonick, W. (2018). Contemporary Capitalism. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2774

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics