The Hybrid Variety: Lessons in Nonmarket Coordination from the Business System in the Netherlands, 1950–2010

This article develops a historical perspective on the coordinated market economy of the Netherlands and explains why it opted for compartmentalized liberalization. Two related questions are addressed, studying the Netherlands as a case study of a Coordinated Market Economy (CME): to what extent can economic change be accommodated within one “type of capitalism†? And why do specific institutions change while others remain in place? Applying the criteria of “Varieties of Capitalism†I focus on the way the Dutch business system applied nonmarket coordination during the twentieth century. Drawing information from various subfields (business history, labor relations and welfare state studies), I review processes of change and postulate that coordination resulted in the adoption of market-oriented reform in clearly delineated areas. “Varieties of Capitalism†theory addresses the historical roots of institutional arrangements, but historical developments have been underexposed in the comparative capitalism-literature.