CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Two decades ago, many people thought that the lesson of the 1980s was that Japan's variant of capitalism was the best model, and that other countries around the world should and would follow it. The Japanese model quickly lost its luster in the 1990s.

A decade ago, many thought that the lesson of the 1990s was that the United States' variant of capitalism was the best model, and that other countries should and would follow. The American model lost its attractiveness in the 2000s.

So, where should countries look now, in 2010, for models of economic success to emulate?