For over one hundred years, the British economy has been in decline relative to other industrialized countries. This book explores the origins of Britain's economic problems and develops a striking new argument about the sources of decline. It goes on to analyze the evolution of economic policy in postwar Britain from the development of Keynesianism to the rise of monetarism under Margaret Thatcher. France, by contrast, experienced an economic miracle in the postwar period. Hall argues that the French state transformed itself and then its society through an extensive system of state intervention. In the recent period, however, the French system has encountered many difficulties, and the book locates their sources in the complex interaction between state and society in France culminating in the socialist experiment of Francois Mitterrand. Through his insightful, comparative examination of policy-making in Britain and France, Hall develops a new approach to state-society relations that emphasizes the crucial role of institutional structures.

Prizes

Joint winner of American Political Science Association: Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award 1987

Excellent, insightful...The best recent comparative work involving France that I have seen. West European Politics [A] lucid, balanced and comprehensively documented study of economic policy-making in Britain and France. Times Literary Supplement A stimulating attempt to change the terms of the debate over state policy. Hall engages with a wide-ranging body of theoretical literature and an array of historical data with a clarity and deftness that makes the book both a delight to read and controversial. Public Administration An important book...that offers a sophisticated and very attractive theoretical approach to the comparative study of advanced industrial societies that deserves wide attention...A model of the way history and theory can be combined to illuminate the broad course of the European postwar political economy. American Journal of Sociology Hall's book is highly readable, carefully argued and raises a lot of interesting questions on every topic that it covers. It deserves to be widely read. The Manchester School of Economics and Social Sciences Peter Hall is one of the most interesting new figures in the field of comparative European politics...[This book] is a provocative contribution to a number of important debates in comparative political and policy analysis. French Politics and Society Newsletter A significant and valuable study...The proposed institutional model will be valuable in the study of economic policy making in other western democracies. Governance A stimulating attempt to change the terms of the debate over state policy. Hall engages with a wide-ranging body of theoretical literature and an array of historical data with a clarity and deftness that makes the book both a delight to read and controversial. Public Administration