The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Economic Systems

Recent events showed how complex and difficult is to understand, explain, manage and predict the working of economies. Globalization, the transformation of Central-Eastern Europe, the emergence of new economic powers, the International Financial Crisis and the EU sovereign debt crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and – while closing this Handbook – the ongoing crisis spurred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine are just the most visible and analysed events that proved that traditional theories and models are short of suitable explanations and predictions, let alone intervention to modify unsatisfactory trends or avoid potential dangers. Moreover, similar and sometimes internationally coordinated policies had different, even divergent, outcomes in different countries. These observations hold at both macroeconomic and microeconomic levels, with enterprises adapting differently to similar events and reacting to similar policies, and extend to various areas beyond economics, including politics which in turn influence the economy. In spite of analytic progress, abundant supply with sophisticated theories, availability of big data and detailed knowledge, understanding and managing the world appears to be difficult because it is hard to understand and explain the features and processes of a highly complex, interconnected and globalized world. All this requires that the traditional (mainstream) economic view is reconsidered and a more open attitude is taken towards new issues and approaches.