Ordoliberal Lessons for Economic Stability: Different Kinds of Regulation, Not More Regulation

Siems, Mathias; Schnyder, Gerhard

doi:10.1111/gove.12046

Ordoliberal Lessons for Economic Stability: Different Kinds of Regulation, Not More Regulation

Siems, Mathias; Schnyder, Gerhard

Authors

Mathias Siems

Gerhard Schnyder

Abstract

Since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 the term “ordoliberalism” has experienced a marked revival. This discussion tends to focus on the need for more state intervention. Yet this misrepresents the core ideas of ordoliberalism because its main concern is not with “how much” but with “what kind of” intervention is needed. Thus, this article seeks to clarify the ordoliberal position, in particular its key distinction between market conforming and nonconforming state intervention. Discussing the current financial crisis, it also evaluates the potential benefits and drawbacks of ordoliberalism. The article rebukes rhetorical shortcuts that equate every economic policy coming out of Germany with ordoliberalism. It also suggests that while the ordoliberal conception does not necessarily provide a solution to the current problems in the short run, in the long run it may form the basis for a sounder conception of economic regulation than more libertarian views can offer.

Citation

Siems, M., & Schnyder, G. (2014). Ordoliberal Lessons for Economic Stability: Different Kinds of Regulation, Not More Regulation. Governance, 27(3), 377-396. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12046

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jun 6, 2013
Online Publication Date	Aug 1, 2013
Publication Date	Jul 1, 2014
Deposit Date	Jun 4, 2014
Publicly Available Date	Jan 18, 2016
Journal	Governance
Print ISSN	0952-1895
Electronic ISSN	1468-0491
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	27
Issue	3
Pages	377-396
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12046
Related Public URLs	http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2336475

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Siems, M. and Schnyder, G. (2014), Ordoliberal Lessons for Economic Stability: Different Kinds of Regulation, Not More Regulation. Governance, 27(3): 377-396, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gove.12046. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.