By exploring changes in US production and employment relations in the 1990s and the early 21st century, this article challenges prevalent theoretical paradigms. Both those who claim a path-dependent persistence of the US model and those who argue for convergence towards a best practice do not properly understand the transformation of US production and employment relations. This article claims that this American transformation is neither convergence nor a path-dependent persistence of the traditional model, but the creation of a new divergence, different from those of countries like Japan and Germany. This divergence is not predetermined by culture and institutions, but is produced as a consequence of politics among reflexive agents.
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