Ideas and beliefs can make a contribution to economic development. The case of Humanism and the Low Countries' sudden rise to prosperity prove the point. Humanism became of substantial economic value when it turned out that its norms and customs allowed the Dutch long-distance trader to find...

This illuminating book broadly addresses the emerging field of ‘diversity of capitalism’ from a comparative institutional approach. It explores the varied patterns for achieving coordination in different economic systems, applying them specifically to China, Japan and South Korea....

Based on fieldwork in Zhejiang 2000/01, the paper analyses the processes and mechanisms that shape China’s new private sector. The paper argues that the development of the private sector is characterised by the on‐going interaction between local jurisdictions, networks and entrepreneurs. The...