The First Wave of Americanization, 1870-1945 -- Fordism and Taylorism Come to Europe -- Americanization as a Comprehensive Concept of Economic Development During the 20th Century -- The Second Wave of Americanization: The Great Post-War Boom, 1945-1975 -- Americanization as a Mission, 1945-1955 -- Mass Production, Mass Distribution, and New Technology -- Managing Firms and Their Consumers -- Americanization's Third Wave from the 1980s -- Economic Slowdown and the American Model -- Companies and Consumers -- Industrial Relations as a Barrier to Americanization -- Conclusion.

One of the main features of the world economy since the late nineteenth century has been the growing dominance of the American economy in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Aspects of this development - e.g. rationalization or the world-wide diffusion of Coca-Cola - have been researched, but largely in isolation. Americanization of the European Economy provides a comprehensive yet compact survey of the growth of American economic influence in Europe since the 1880s. Three distinct but cumulative waves of Americanization are identified. Americanization was (and still is) a complex process of technological, political, and cultural transfer, and this overview explains why and how the USA and the American model of industrial capitalism came to be accepted as the dominant paradigm of political economy in today's Europe. Americanization of the European Economy summarizes the ongoing discussion by business historians, sociologists, and political scientists and makes it accessible to all types of readers who are interested in political and economic development.