Van Metaaldraadlamp tot Agnetapark. Het Nederlands kapitalisme in de twintigste eeuw’, Reviewartikel over Bedrijfsleven in Nederland in de Twintigste Eeuw (BINT) (7 vols. + Engelstalige bundel)

Abstract

From Filament Bulb to Agneta Park: Dutch Capitalism in the Twentieth Century

In this review article, Jeroen Touwen discusses a series of seven books published between 2008 and 2015 under the title Bedrijfsleven in Nederland in de Twintigste Eeuw (Business in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century), and the edited volume in English that contains the major conclusions and has some further reflections on the characteristics of Dutch capitalism. To which extent does the series meet recent demands of business history? Is the narrative connected with the characteristics of the national business system and the origins and development of economic growth? And does this business history transcend the microeconomic history of the individual company? This review article positions the series, with its wide and colourful range of facts and events, in the context of recent literature on business history. It particularly examines the conclusions on comparative capitalism.