Abstract

After the Second World War, capitalist economies were affected by inclusive growth. In the last decades this trend has changed. Economic growth in the advanced countries slowed down and associated to increasing social inequalities. However, there are significant differences among countries. Some of them were affected by higher rates of growth and high degrees of inequalities. Others showed economic dynamism with more limited social inequalities. The worst case involved low growth and extended inequalities. The literature on the varieties of capitalism has offered interesting hypotheses to explain such differences, and therefore to shed light on the institutional bases of models that are more compatible with inclusive growth. However, this literature has mainly looked at the connections among economic and social policies and usually considered institutional assets as given. The aim of this paper is to propose a new comparative research agenda that could enhance the analytical tools of the varieties of capitalism. In this perspective, attention is drawn to the role of politics in shaping regulative policies by assessing empirical and theoretical links between types of democracy (majoritarian vs. consensual) and models of capitalism. Politics has been overlooked so far, but it appears crucial in order to understand the economic as well as the political conditions of an inclusive growth: its origins and its future.