New Book Edited by Lucio Baccaro Now Published

PaperFIRST in Rome recently published a new book edited by MPIfG director Lucio Baccaro called I capitalismi a confronto: L'Economia Politica Comparata in venti lezioni (Capitalisms compared: Comparative political economy in twenty lessons). The textbook is a systematic introduction to a discipline that is internationally well-established but lesser known in Italy. It explores the relationships between the economy, institutions, and society. In the book’s twenty lessons, ten Italian scholars from leading international universities address central topics ranging from labor markets and welfare systems to industrial policy. Each contribution has two parts, one considering the country in a European and global context and the second analyzing the Italian case specifically. The premise of the book is that the economy and society are not autonomous, but interdependent: There is no single efficient model of capitalism but instead various models that differ in how they combine growth, social justice, and political stability.

Appointed to the MPIfG in 2017, Lucio Baccaro has been instrumental in shaping growth models theory. His coedited volume with Mark Blyth and Jonas Pontusson, Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation (Oxford University Press, 2022), is central to the debate on economic stagnation and has attracted international attention.