In this 1998 book, experts in British industrial history analyse the causes of nationalisation in the 1940s.

A challenge to the central theme of the existing histories of twentieth-century Britain, that the British state was a welfare state, this book argues that it was also a warfare state, which supported a powerful armaments industry. This insight implies major revisions to our understanding of twentieth-century British history, from appeasement, to wartime industrial and economic policy, and the place of science and technology in government. David Edgerton also shows how British intellectuals came to think of the state in terms of welfare and decline, and includes a devastating analysis of C. P. Snow's two cultures. This groundbreaking book offers a new, post-welfarist and post-declinist, account of Britain, and an original analysis of the relations of science, technology, industry and the military. It will be essential reading for those working on the history and historiography of twentieth-century Britain, the historical sociology of war and the history of science and technology.

Publisher Description

Coal is a topic that has been, remains, and will continue to be of significant interest to those concerned with the causes, course and consequences of industrialization and de-industrialization. This six-volume, reset collection provides scholars with a wide variety of sources relating to the Victorian coal industry.

An exploration of Labour's 1931 pledge to create a planned socialist economy and the reasons for its failure to do so. In the general election of 1931, the Labour Party campaigned on the slogan "Plan or Perish". The party's pledge to create a planned socialist economy was a novelty, and marked the rejection of the gradualist, evolutionary socialism to which Labour had adhered under the leadership of Ramsay MacDonald. Although heavily defeated in that election, Labour stuck to its commitment. The Attlee government came to power in 1945 determined to plan comprehensively. Yet, the aspiration to create a fully planned economy was not met. This book explores the origins and evolution of the promise, in order to explain why it was not fulfilled. RICHARD TOYE lectures in history at Homerton College, Cambridge.

The coming of the railways signalled the transformation of European society, allowing the quick and cheap mass transportation of people and goods on a previously unimaginable scale. By the early decades of the twentieth century, however, the domination of rail transport was threatened by increased motorised road transport which would quickly surpass and eclipse the trains, only itself to be challenged in the twenty-first century by a renewal of interest in railways. Yet, as the studies in this volume make clear, to view the relationship between road and rail as a simple competition between two rival forms of transportation, is a mistake. Rail transport did not vanish in the twentieth century any more than road transport vanished in the nineteenth with the appearance of the railways. Instead a mutual interdependence has always existed, balancing the strengths and weaknesses of each system. It is that interdependence that forms the major theme of this collection. Divided into two main sections, the first part of the book offers a series of chapters examining how railway companies reacted to increasing competition from road transport, and exploring the degree to which railways depended on road transportation at different times and places. Part two focuses on road mobility, interpreting it as the innovative success story of the twentieth century. Taken together, these essays provide a fascinating reappraisal of the complex and shifting nature of European transportation over the last one hundred years.

When politicians redistribute public wealth by privatizing State-Owned Enterprises ( SOE ), they divest themselves of public accountability, and profoundly affect laws, economics, and social behavior. Data gathered from respondents in twenty-eight countries including lawyers, investment bankers, bureaucrats, and educators, identify beneficiaries and victims of privatizing processes. Results are then explained by statistical analysis, concluding with compensatory arrangements that can humanize privatizing.

The Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Small Firms (the Bolton Committee Report) was produced at a time of significant political change. The 1970s in the UK saw the beginning of the end for interventionism and ‘big government’ and the emergence of a new free market, economic liberalism. However, the same period also saw the creation of what became a substantial agenda to intervene in the economy through an extensive range of government initiatives aimed at encouraging and enabling small firms and entrepreneurship. Marking the 50th Anniversary of the publication of the Bolton Committee’s report this book provides researchers with new insights into the tensions between these potentially contradictory political agendas that would come to shape our modern economy. It provides the first in-depth analysis of the origins, operation and outcomes of the Bolton Committee, which is widely seen as responsible for the small firm agenda in the UK. In doing so, new insights are generated not only into the birth of enterprise policy in the UK but into the wider changes in political economy that saw powerful tensions between free market rhetoric and new forms of interventionism in practice. The book will be of interest to scholars and PhD students working in the fields of entrepreneurship, small business management and business history.

The process of urbanisation and suburbanisation in Britain from the Victorian period to the twentieth century.

. . . it s a valuable and laudable work. . . I found it interesting and helpful to have an account of the parallel developments in the other two countries. . . An analysis of important aspects of British and French energy policy development based on primary sources is a worthwhile contribution. A broad comparative synthesis of energy policy in the three countries is also a worthwhile contribution. John Neufeld, EH.NET The main objective of this very interesting book is to analyse from economic history and political economy perspectives the similarities and differences in the forms that the electricity sector has been organized and the ways that energy policy has developed in Britain, France, and the US. The book s organization and the clarity of the writing make for a highly rewarding read. . . Chick has dedicated many years to studying the electricity sector, and this book demonstrates his mastery of this complex industry. . . Chick s book will be of decided interest to energy specialists, but it will also appeal to a broader readership including economic historians, political economists, and other social scientists who wish to understand the crucial role that energy has played in international politics, economic growth, and human welfare during the period since the Second World War. Judith Clifton, The Economic History Review Chick s superb study of this crucial sector goes right to the heart of a number of problems associated with markets and government, casting light on each. It also sheds light in unexpected areas, and in particular on the history of economic thought. Above all, this volume succeeds admirably in fusing the best techniques of business and economic history to show why history matters for present-day policy. Roger Middleton, Business History This history of the post-WWII electricity supply industry in France, Great Britain and the US is well researched and well written. . . The author draws on newly available archival material to develop a sophisticated, deeply informed portrayal of the evolutionary process in each nation. . . This well-crafted industrial history should be of interest to practitioners and policy makers as well as students and scholars. Highly recommended. R.C. Singleton, Choice Nationalisation, regulation, privatisation: beyond polemics, history lessons by Martin Chick. Alain Beltran, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, France International economic history is not just concerned with flows of capital and goods. It involves comparisons of the economic policy and organisation of specific economic sectors. In this excellent book, Martin Chick examines energy policy issues, policy formation, policy makers and their advisers, in USA, France and Britain, drawing on original archive sources. He brings out the importance of strategic issues, including security, in the switch from coal to oil and natural gas, the European debate on coal and steel, pricing in electricity supply and finally privatisation and liberalisation of markets. It is a fine exercise in political economy and will appeal to scholars and students of politics as well as of history, economics and business studies. Robert Millward, University of Manchester, UK Analyzing the work of economic theorists and policy practitioners from the 1840s to the present, this sophisticated historical account helps scholars understand better the profound obstacles to making successful energy policy today. In particular, the cross-national study highlights the primacy of social, political, and historical forces over rational economic theory, demonstrating that energy policy making has never been (and will likely never become) a pure science based on cherished academic principles such as marginal-cost pricing. Richard Hirsh, Consortium on Energy Restructuring, Virginia Tech, US Martin Chick s overview of the formation and implementation of energy policy in three countries since 1945 is a remarkable achievement. Writing clearly, confidently a