Description: Nations use product standards, and manipulate them, for reasons other than practical use or safety. Samuel Krislov compares and contrasts the United States, the EC, the former Eastern bloc, and Japan--o link standard choice with political styles and to trace growing internationalization based on product efficiency criteria.
Review Quotes: A fascinating overview of an extremely important but too often neglected subject, namely business standards and the critical role they have played and continue to play in both the national and global economy. What makes this study especially valuable is its rich and detailed comparative and historical scope.-- "David Vogel, University of California, Berkeley"