Surveying governmental industrial policy in Britain, James Tomlinson explores the perennial concern of government to improve the efficiency and the competitiveness of British industry. Organized chronologically, the book focuses on the formation of policy-making and policy implementation, according to the ideas and beliefs that have dominated this century. Thus, industrial policy is traced through wars and recessions, the building of the welfare state and times of growth, and through stagflation, economic liberalism, and deindustrialization. The constant theme is the attempt by all governments to achieve the objectives of high growth, low unemployment, and international competitiveness. Tomlinson reveals both the macroeconomic context of industrial policy, and microeconomic effects of these policies. The focus of the book is on British industry, although in many cases Tomlinson uses a comparative perspective to set British policy in the world context.

Government and the Enterprise since 1900: The Changing Problem of Efficiency

Business & Money

Tomlinson, Jim

Economics

Oxford University Press

This study offers a distinctive new account of British economic life since the Second World War, focussing upon the ways in which successive governments, in seeking to manage the economy, have sought simultaneously to "manage the people": to try and manage popular understanding of economic issues. In doing so, governments have sought not only to shape expectations for electoral purposes but to construct broader narratives about how "the economy" should be understood. The starting point of this work is to ask why these goals have been focussed upon (and differentially over time), how they have been constructed to appeal to the population, and, insofar as this can be assessed, how far the population has accepted these narratives. The first half of the book analyses the development of the major narratives from the 1940s onwards, addressing the notion of "austerity" and its particular meaning in the 1940s; the rise of a narrative of 'economic decline from the late 1950s, and the subsequent attempts to "modernize" the economy; the attempts to "roll back the state" from the 1970s; the impact of ideas of "globalization" in the 1900s; and, finally, the way the crisis of 2008/9 onward was constructed as a problem of "debts and deficits". The second part of the book focuses on four key issues in attempts to "manage the people: productivity, the balance of payments, inflation, and unemployment. It shows how, in each case, governments sought to get the populace to understand these issues in a particular light, and shaped strategies to that end.

Managing the Economy, Managing the People: Narratives of Economic Life in Britain from Beveridge to Brexit

The Conservatives and Industrial Efficiency, 1951-1964 responds to the need for a full assessment of the Conservatives performance in this crucial period. Drawing upon a wide range of archival sources, Nick Tiratsoo and Jim Tomlinson explore the different aspects of the efficiency question. Beginning with the major issue of attempts in the 1950s to americanize British industry, the authors also discuss the Conservatives policy on ompetition, education and training, investment and research and development. This new survey reveals that the Conservatives were informed about each of these issues, yet shrank from effective reform. They were, rather, reduced to inertia by ideological dilemmas, internal party antagonisms and conflicting strategic objectives. Tiratsoo and Tomlinson conclude that 1951 - 1964 were indeed 'thirteen wasted years'. This book will be of interest to all those concerned with the post-1945 economic and political history of Britain.

The Conservatives and Industrial Efficiency, 1951-1964: Thirteen Wasted Years? (Routledge Explorations in Economic History)

Tiratsoo, Nick

Routledge

Most historical accounts of economic policy set out to describe the way in which governments have attempted to solve their economic problems and to achieve their economic objectives. Jim Tomlinson, however, focuses on the problems themselves, arguing that the way in which areas of economic policy become ‘problems’ for policy makers is always problematic itself, that it is never obvious and never happens ‘naturally’. This approach is quite distinct from the Marxist, the Keynesian or the neo-classical accounts of economic policy, the schools of thought which are described and criticized in the introduction. Subsequent chapters use the issues of unemployment, the gold standard and problems of trade and Empire to demonstrate that these competing accounts all obscure the true complexities of the process. Because they adhere to simple assumptions about the role of economic theory or of ‘vested interests’ previous histories have been unable adequately to explain the dramatic change after the First World War in attitudes to unemployment, for instance, or the decision to return to gold in 1925. Jim Tomlinson surveys the institutional circumstances, the conflicting political pressures and the theories offered at the time in an attempt to discover the conditions which characterized the questions as economic problems and contributed to the choice of ‘solutions’. The result is a sophisticated and intellectually compelling account of matters which have remained at the forefront of political debate since its first publication in 1981.

Problems of British Economic Policy, 1870-1945 (Economic History)

Reference

British Macroeconomic Policy since 1940 (Routledge Revivals)

Originally published in1985, Jim Tomlinson charters the route of British macroeconomic policy in the post-war era. This book argues that the objectives of macroeconomic policy have not been constant; that the emphasis has shifted from one item to another over time; and that this uncertainty and inconsistency over objectives goes a long way to explaining why macroeconomics management has not been a startling success.

Originally published in1985. Jim Tomlinson charters the route of British macroeconomic policy in the post-war era. This book argues that the objectives of macroeconomic policy have not been constant; that the emphasis has shifted from one item to another over time; and that this uncertainty and inconsistency over objectives goes a long way to explaining why macroeconomics management has not been a startling success.

The Unequal Struggle?

Routledge& Kegan Paul

The Unequal Struggle? British Socialism and the Capitalist Enterprise

Democratic Socialism and Economic Policy: The Attlee Years, 1945–1951 (Cambridge Studies in Modern Economic History, Series Number 3)

This major new addition to Cambridge Studies in Modern Economic History analyzes the economic policies of the Attlee Government, incorporating already published literature and much new research. It integrates the politics of economic policy-making with the economic arguments. It stresses the importance of the government's drive for efficiency, and strongly questions the claim that in building a "welfare state" the government neglected production. It is the first comprehensive account of the Attlee government's economic policies.

Cambridge University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tomlinson, Jim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Tomlinson, Jim

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tomlinson, Jim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Government and the Enterprise since 1900: The Changing Problem of Efficiency

Managing the Economy, Managing the People: Narratives of Economic Life in Britain from Beveridge to Brexit

The Conservatives and Industrial Efficiency, 1951-1964: Thirteen Wasted Years? (Routledge Explorations in Economic History)

Problems of British Economic Policy, 1870-1945 (Economic History)

British Macroeconomic Policy since 1940 (Routledge Revivals)

British Macroeconomic Policy since 1940 (Routledge Revivals)

The Unequal Struggle?

The Unequal Struggle? British Socialism and the Capitalist Enterprise

Democratic Socialism and Economic Policy: The Attlee Years, 1945–1951 (Cambridge Studies in Modern Economic History, Series Number 3)

Democratic Socialism and Economic Policy: The Attlee Years, 1945–1951 (Cambridge Studies in Modern Economic History, Series Number 3)