Standard political economy models of redistribution, notably that of Meltzer and Richard (1981), fail to account for the remarkable variance in government redistribution across democracies. We develop a general model of redistribution that explains why some democratic governments are more prone...

One of the most extraordinary social science phenomena of the postwar period has been the rise in violent crime in large American cities from the 1970s to the mid 1990s and the consequent rise in incarceration; and then its subsequent dramatic decline in most of those cities and the...

This paper explains the enduring disparities in inequality and welfare states across advanced economies in terms of varieties of capitalism and political systems. Where capitalism is coordinated as in much of Northern Europe, political systems are consensus-based with pr elections; consensus...

The paper explores the influence of institutional frameworks on the evolution of the German software and biotechnology sectors. It links institutional constraints to poor performance of German firms in high volume market niches characterized by turbulent technological change and substantial...

This paper examines the patterns of technological innovation in Germany, and compares them with those prevalent in the US and UK economies. The paper argues that the institutional features of the German system of innovation lend it comparative advantage in innovation. The paper discusses these...

The pattern of innovation in Germany is substantially different from that in the US and the UK. It is argued that German patterns of innovation - incremental innovation in high quality products especially in engineering and chemicals - require long-term capital, highly cooperative unions and...

How will EMU influence the European political economy? This paper argues that most of the likely alternatives are unsustainable for at least some of the EMU member-states. As a result, the Stability Pact imposed by the Kohl government and the Bundesbank is likely to be rejected by other...