IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rnp/ecopol/ep1749.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

National Schools of Economic Thought in Germany and the Theory of Social Market Economy
[Национальные Экономические Школы В Германии И Теория Социального Рыночного Хозяйства]

Author

Listed:
  • Khudokormov, Alexander G. (Худокормов, Александр)

    (Lomonosov Moscow State University)

  • Nevskiy, Sergey I. (Невский, Сергей)

    (Lomonosov Moscow State University)

Abstract

Since the 19th century, development of economic scientific schools in Germany was under the influence of specific historical realities – processes of industrialization, unification of the German states, world wars, economic crises, and so on. At different historical stages, representatives of the three generations of the German historical school — social school, ordoliberalism of the Freiburg school, or the theory of the social market economy — mostly advocated the idea of state reformism and paternalism demanding the existence of a “strong state” that provides the institutional framework of law and order (“ordnungsrahmen”). To some extent, they exerted intellectual influence on the development of the principles of economic policy in Germany forming its economic constitution and determining the nation’s economic culture. This article traces the history of the genesis of the ideological foundations of the social market economy — the concept that laid the basis for the “economic miracle” in the post-war West Germany. As is known, the theoretical framework of this concept was based on various streams of socio-economic and legal thought. Firstly, we focus on the cultural and historical context of the formation of national economic schools in Germany in the second half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Then we examine the main features of the crisis of the German economic science in the Weimar period and analyze the background for the emergence of the neoliberal economic thought in the second quarter of the 20th century. Furthermore, we explore the methodological nature of the ordoliberal doctrine of the Freiburg school (the theory of the competitive order) and systematize the basic principles of the theory of the social market economy. Finally, we do a brief historiographical excursus into the scientific discourse in Russia on the theory and practice of the social market economy in Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Khudokormov, Alexander G. (Худокормов, Александр) & Nevskiy, Sergey I. (Невский, Сергей), 2017. "National Schools of Economic Thought in Germany and the Theory of Social Market Economy [Национальные Экономические Школы В Германии И Теория Социального Рыночного Хозяйства]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 4, pages 204-249, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:rnp:ecopol:ep1749
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.ranepa.ru/rnp/ecopol/ep1749.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicholls, A. J., 2000. "Freedom with Responsibility: The Social Market Economy in Germany 1918-1963," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198208525, Decembrie.
    2. White,Lawrence H., 2012. "The Clash of Economic Ideas," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107012424, January.
    3. Walter Oetsch & Stephan Puehringer, 2015. "Marktradikalismus als Politische Oekonomie Wirtschaftswissenschaften und ihre Netzwerke in Deutschland ab 1945," ICAE Working Papers 38, Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy.
    4. Janssen, Hauke, 2009. "Zwischen Historismus und Neoklassik: Alexander Rüstow und die Krise in der deutschen Volkswirtschaftslehre," HWWI Research Papers 5-7, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).
    5. Gerrit Meijer, 1994. "Walter Eucken’s Contribution to Economics in an International Perspective," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 21(4), pages 25-37, September.
    6. Janssen Hauke, 2009. "Zwischen Historismus und Neoklassik: Alexander Rüstow und die Krise in der deutschen Volkswirtschaftslehre / Between Historical School and Neoclassical Economics: Alexander Rüstow and the Crisis in Ge," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 60(1), pages 101-118, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edward Lopez, 2015. "Introduction to the Public Choice Society at 50 years symposium," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 1-5, April.
    2. Peter J. Boettke & Liya Palagashvili, 2015. "Taming Leviathan," Supreme Court Economic Review, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(1), pages 279-303.
    3. Roland Fritz & Nils Goldschmidt & Matthias Störring, 2023. "Contextual liberalism: the ordoliberal approach to private vices and public benefits," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 301-322, June.
    4. Constantinos Repapis, 2014. "J.M. Keynes, F.A. Hayek and the Common Reader," Economic Thought, World Economics Association, vol. 3(2), pages 1-1, September.
    5. Paul D. Mueller, 2016. "Public and Private Institutions in the Federal Reserve," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 31(Fall 2016), pages 49-68.
    6. Richard Wagner, 2013. "What kind of state in our future? Fact and Conjecture in Vito Tanzi’s Government versus Markets," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 26(1), pages 93-104, March.
    7. Dathe Uwe, 2009. "Walter Euckens Weg zum Liberalismus (1918-1934) / Walter Eucken’s way to liberalism (1918-1934)," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 60(1), pages 53-86, January.
    8. Lawrence White, 2014. "“Austerian” economics: Does the Vienna school favor fiscal deficit reduction even in a subpar economy?," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 27(4), pages 351-358, December.
    9. Stefan Kolev & Nils Goldschmidt & Jan-Otmar Hesse, 2020. "Debating liberalism: Walter Eucken, F. A. Hayek and the early history of the Mont Pèlerin Society," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 433-463, December.
    10. Leonidas Zelmanovitz & Carlos Newland & Juan Carlos Rosiello, 2022. "The great depression as a global currency crisis: An Argentine perspective," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 35(1), pages 99-114, March.
    11. Anthony J. Evans & Vlad Tarko, 2014. "Contemporary Work in Austrian Economics," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 29(Fall 2014), pages 135-157.
    12. Isabella M. Weber, 2019. "How to Make a Miracle? Ludwig Erhard’s Post-War Price Liberalisation in China’s 1980s Reform Debate," Working Papers 1903, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    13. Gurbachan Singh, 2016. "Land Price, Bubbles and Permit Raj," Review of Market Integration, India Development Foundation, vol. 8(1-2), pages 1-33, April.
    14. Vipin P. Veetil & Lawrence H. White, 2017. "Towards a New Austrian Macroeconomics," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 19-38, March.
    15. Emilio Ocampo, 2020. "Sir Oswald Mosley’s contribution to the Interwar Policy Debate and Fascist Economics," CEMA Working Papers: Serie Documentos de Trabajo. 730, Universidad del CEMA.
    16. Shruti Rajagopalan, 2015. "Incompatible institutions: socialism versus constitutionalism in India," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 328-355, September.
    17. Vlad Tarko, 2020. "Understanding post-communist transitions: the relevance of Austrian economics," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 163-186, March.
    18. Scott Burns, 2018. "Human Capital and Its Structure," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 33(Summer 20), pages 33-51.
    19. Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2017. "States and economic growth: Capacity and constraints," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-20.
    20. Anthony J. Evans & Nicolás Cachanosky & Robert Thorpe, 2022. "The upper turning point in the Austrian business cycle theory," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 35(1), pages 89-97, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    history of economic thought in Germany; New historical school; German neoliberalism; Freiburg school; social market economy.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • B15 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary
    • B25 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rnp:ecopol:ep1749. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: RANEPA maintainer (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aneeeru.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.