This work concentrates on the concept and changing role of the state in influencing Third World development and on the wider ramifications of various forms of public action. It also examines the extent to which state action helps or hinders other forms of public action. The first part of the book deals with the changing concept of the State in the 1980s and the implications for public action, and discusses the shift in mainstream theory from the public interest view of state action to the private interest view. It sets out a framework for understanding the macroeconomic context of public and private action, and considers forms of public action within and outside the realm of the state sector, investigating the connections between finance and the development of public autonomy and capability. The second section contains a body of case study material selected to illustrate and reinforce the theoretical frameworks of the first section. The case studies are mainly, but not exclusively, country-based and consider pertinent topics.