How can we explain that some emerging economies grow faster than others? What explains the sustainability of their growth? Not all types of capitalism in emerging markets contribute equally to sustainable growth rates that undergird development. Comparative capitalism research on European economies temporary growth models aims to more properly grasp change in the varieties of capitalism approach. Adoption of the growth models in emerging markets capitalism research requires attention to integration into the global economy and to political coalitions, and the need to deal with the methodological challenges, given high labor market informality and political instability. This article seeks to make sense of changes in the components of successive growth models throughout a path-dependent capitalist variety, expand the growth model analytical framework by testing elements alongside demand (and supply) based on a case study of Brazil, and explore coalitions in economic reform to identify growth model’s social blocs. The article’s results unveil challenges to the employment of existing concepts and analytical framework; the need to build bridges between growth models and the political economy of development; and an exploratory assessment of growth model contributions to Brazil's postwar development. Thereof, in the long term, interest shifts of economic elites between liberal and non-liberal economic regimes suggest a fragility of repeated attempts to form a durable developmental coalition, a process dynamic that frays state-permeated capitalism positive externalities. It concludes that both path dependent developmental institutions, which hinder change, and growth instability limit the possibilities of designing institutional reforms out of the middle-income trap.

No abstract

No abstract

German manufacturing firms’ industrial system is widely known as Diversified Quality Production, a product strategy which applies the techniques of volume production to high quality product lines (STREECK, 1997). It is a differentiation instead of a cost-driven competitive strategy. The DQP system is supported by a wide and dense mesh of institutions promoting ‘strategic’ interaction between firms and other actors. However, the transition to Industrie 4.0 demands knowledge intensive ICT which can hamper the innovative potential from Mittelstand. Employment in high and medium-tech manufacturing, ICT share in the GDP and hightech exports are virtually stagnated over the last decade and the industrial policy should heed these early signals. The conundrum faced by Germany is to what extent changes in manufacturing will also require changing the institutions which supported its successful innovation manufacturing model centred on Diversified Quality Production.ResumoO sucesso das empresas médias alemãs é amplamente conhecido como Produção com Qualidade Diversificada (PQD), uma estratégia de produto que aplica as técnicas de produção em escala às linhas de produtos de alta qualidade (STREECK, 1997). A ênfase é na diferenciação ao invés de uma estratégia competitiva baseada em custos. A PQD é apoiada por rede de instituições que promovem a interação “estratégica” entre empresas e outros atores. No entanto, a transição para a Indústria 4.0 exige um conhecimento intensivo de TIC que pode dificultar o potencial inovador da Mittelstand. O emprego na manufatura de alta e média tecnologia, a participação das TIC no PIB e as exportações de alta tecnologia estão estagnadas na última década e a política industrial deve estar atenta a estes sinais. Até que ponto as mudanças na manufatura na Alemanha também exigirão mudanças nas instituições que apoiaram seu modelo inovador bem sucedido da PQD.