Our article presents an index of institutional complementarity for 27 postcommunist economies, and evaluates a key claim of the Varieties of Capitalism paradigm. The empirical novelty of the index lies in its integration of informal institutions as well as its combination of macro-level and...

That liberty is necessary for greater happiness and a better life is a notion deeply rooted in the American sensibility. But is there a link between greater freedom and greater happiness across countries? In this article we explore this question by examining the empirical relationship between...

This article argues that free markets promote other important virtues that have heretofore received scant attention. Specifically, through fostering an indefinitely-lived series of exchanges, free markets create a future promoting integrity and trust. This is because the more the future matters,...

This paper, based on a study of mid-sized firms in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, seeks to explain the reasons behind the marked impact of ownership on firm performance which has been observed in a number of studies in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. Focusing in particular...

The 2008 financial crisis has touched almost every nation around the world resulting in the loss of trillions of dollars in wealth. People began seriously questioning the fundamentals of free market system. While some blame politicians, bureaucrats, and corporate leaders for their mistaken...

Recent data on electoral dynamics and sociopolitical preferences present evidence of declining popular support for the values and institutions of traditional liberal democracy across some western societies. This decrease is more pronounced within the younger cohort of voters, especially the...

Does public support for the economic model, rise if the economy prospers and drop in times of a downturn? Or is the support largely independent of the ups and downs of economic cycles? A capitalist economy is based on several elements, such as private ownership and competition. We hypothesize...

During modern times there are two major competing economic systems: Capitalism and Socialism. Although by the middle of the twentieth century Socialism had included almost one-third of the world’s population and then it declined, in terms of practical impact Capitalism has outshined Socialism...