2. Failures of European Harmonization 3. Integration and Diversity: A Possibility or Paradox? 4. Implications for Corporate Accountability and Asian Integration

The economic and political processes of internationalization and regional integration occurring today raise new questions about the prospects of institutional diversity and convergence among advanced industrialized countries. Whereas economic theory long assumed that there was “one best way ” to organize the economy, it is increasingly recognized that diverse forms of economic organization can have comparative institutional advantages for different types of economic activity. A large literature now explores the different “varieties of capitalism ” and their relation to economic performance, as well as social equality. Corporate governance lies at the heart of this debate. Large corporations not only act as the major engines of innovation, but their governance has strong consequences for national employment and the stability of the financial system. As national economies grow together, international efforts have increased to guarantee common standards regarding investor protection, bank stability and the governance of globa