The transatlantic exchange of ideas and practices

This paper argues that the defining feature of the contemporary transatlantic exchange is the political acceptability of institutional changes. The diffusion of ideas and methods poses the problem of complementarities between the existing practices and the new ones. Complementarities are not simply determined by technology, but are influenced by cognitive and cultural factors and by politics. Complementarities mean that countries will differ in what they can adopt. Sometimes, new practices are not compatible with old ones. More interestingly, even when there are no conflicts in practices, institutions may not be compatible. These problems can be analyzed as a combinatorial problem that can be represented by a simple Boolean algebra. Using these ideas, the paper argues that the current debate in France over such issues as compensation poses broad political and cultural questions regarding the future of French society and the viability of the French national system. In contrast, the United States is an open international system, where its deficits in worker training are compensated by a highly crafted immigration policy to attract foreign labor. The French and American systems can co-exist and each can achieve a set of goals compatible with their national aspirations.

Résumé en français dans l'ouvrage