In search of varieties of capitalism: hardy perennial or troublesome weed?

Are varieties of capitalism real things in the world, or analytic artifacts that scholars project into the world? The first part of this essay considers the utility of sorting different capitalist economies into different types. We build upon Hay (2020) to argue that some varietals are both more real and more useful than others. Specifically, we argue that recent work on growth models (Baccaro and Pontusson 2016) marks a progressive extension of the Comparative Political Economy research program on advanced capitalist states. But from an International Political Economy perspective, this research program can only reach its potential by clearly determining whether the causal origins of variety lie in either unit or system-level characteristics. We argue for incorporating a more system-led explanation of variety that focuses upon fallacies of composition, power asymmetries, and credit cycles. To show this, we walk through four different arguments about system–unit relations – the ‘four Galtons’ – and add in Minsky’s argument about financial crisis cycles.