The Federal Republic of Germany consolidated, in the twentieth century, a very specific model of capitalism, marked by a structure of corporate governance centred on the stakeholders, by participative labour relations and by a patient source of capital, fruit of the close relationships developed between the banks and the enterprises. These factors contributed to explain critical features of the model, including the sources of comparative advantage, the pattern of innovation and the low inequality in wages. Nevertheless, the model suffered pressures on the 1970s, results of the changes in international capitalism. The objective of the article is to evaluate the evolution of the German model in response to those challenges. A central issue is to investigate how the institutions have evolved and in which sense Germany still has a specific model of capitalism. Another point is to understand the challenges faced in terms of productivity and competitiviness, relating them to the institutional features, to the international context and to German foreign strategy. The article employs the approachs historical institutionalism and models of capitalism, approachs which explore the institutional characteristics of the countries and their resilience. It utilises bibliographical sources, press artices related to economics and international politics and data source which dialogue with the institutional aspects of the German economy. As the main conclusions, the article argues that the German model has been transformed, but critical institutional features have been preserved, playing an essential role in the success of the economy. The results indicate that a different model of capitalism, more participative and democratic, is still possible, despite the new configurations of capitalism. The article emphasises the role of the participative practices and of the workers' cooperation for the positive results achieved by the model. The article also illuminates the challenges which have to be faced by the German economy.
Germany; coordinated capitalism; historical institutionalism; political economy; models of capitalism
