{"product_id":"the-european-economy-since-1945-coordinated-capitalism-and-beyond-the-princeton-economic-history-of-the-western-world","title":"The European Economy since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World)","description":"In 1945  many Europeans still heated with coal  cooled their food with ice  and lacked indoor plumbing. Today  things could hardly be more different. Over the second half of the twentieth century  the average Europeans buying power tripled  while working hours fell by a third. The European Economy since 1945 is a broad  accessible  forthright account of the extraordinary development of Europes economy since the end of World War II. Barry Eichengreen argues that the continents history has been critical to its economic performance  and that it will continue to be so going forward.  Challenging standard views that basic economic forces were behind postwar Europes success  Eichengreen shows how Western Europe in particular inherited a set of institutions singularly well suited to the economic circumstances that reigned for almost three decades. Economic growth was facilitated by solidarity-centered trade unions  cohesive employers associations  and growth-minded governments--all legacies of Europes earlier history. For example  these institutions worked together to mobilize savings  finance investment  and stabilize wages.  However  this inheritance of economic and social institutions that was the solution until around 1973--when Europe had to switch from growth based on brute-force investment and the acquisition of known technologies to growth based on increased efficiency and innovation--then became the problem.  Thus  the key questions for the future are whether Europe and its constituent nations can now adapt their institutions to the needs of a globalized knowledge economy  and whether in doing so  the continents distinctive history will be an obstacle or an asset.","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44909614596149,"sku":"ByrdShop_0691127107","price":61.27,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/ByrdShop_0691127107.jpg?v=1768128675","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-european-economy-since-1945-coordinated-capitalism-and-beyond-the-princeton-economic-history-of-the-western-world","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}