One of the most enduring legacies of the 1980s has been the programme of privatizations that the Thatcher government set in train in the first half of the decade. Whole sectors of the UK economy which were formerly part of the public sector were sold off to the private sector. Some were bought out by their employees; others were bought by the public at large. Some public services were contracted out to the private sector; others were placed on a more commercial footing. The UK privatization programme had an influence on economic policy throughout the world. Programmes were also initiated in Asia, South America, Africa, Europe, North America, and, most recently, East and Central Europe. The purpose of this book, a companion volume to The Regulatory Challenge by the same editors, is to stand back and examine what has been learnt from the extensive programme of privatization that the UK government has completed, and to consider what aspects of privatization remain to be done. It attempts to evaluate systematically the privatizations that have been undertaken in different sectors of the UK economy over the last ten years. It examines what has happened and why, where the successes and failures have been, what lessons can be learnt for the design of privatization programmes elsewhere, and what the UK government can still usefully do in this area.

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Europe stands at the start of its first great merger wave. Growing international trade, accelerated by the `Single Market' programme, has seen a sharp increase in mergers across national borders between European-based firms. During the 1990s, this increase in European mergers will almost certainly continue. As it does, it is sure to raise important questions for industrial policy-makers and business strategies. Should, for instance, leading national firms merge to form `European champions'? When does merger make good business sense, and with which firms? Are hostile takeovers a sound method for ensuring top management accountability; or are alternative ownership controls preferable? What are the proper grounds for politicians to prevent a merger, and which politicians? This book addresses these questions, bringing together a number of leading economists and authoritative commentators on mergers and merger policy. The book itself is a `European' edition of Mergers and Merger Policy edited by James A. Fairburn and John Kay (OUP, 1989). Two chapters (on market structure and performance; and on the evolution of merger policy in Britain) from that book are included here without alteration. Other chapters have been updated and to these have been added entirely new chapters on the European dimension of merger activity, regulation and the European community, and on the options open to European companies.

The European question has divided the Labour Party and the progressive left for over 50 years. The contemporary left-wing antithesis to the EU harks back to Bennite anti-marketeer narratives: a neoliberal EU undermines the potential for national progressive policies in relation to labour markets, state intervention and finance. However, many make the case that the EU’s four freedoms support a progressive politics: the single market project embeds social and workers’ rights, challenges member state support for large corporate interests and facilitates free movement for EU citizens. There is, in short, a progressive dilemma for the British left in relation to the European issue, which the authors navigate through the analysis of four policy issues that arose during the Brexit debate and remain significant for British politics and for the left in particular: free trade and the single market, industrial policy and state aid, free movement of persons and finance.

The last decade has witnessed the introduction of an elaborate system of regulation in the UK. This has developed hand in hand with the structural changes in the 1980s, notably the privatization programme and changes in the financial services industries. This book assesses these developments across a number of sectors and offers a range of perspectives for understanding the objectives, mechanisms, and institutions involved.

One of the most enduring legacies of the 1980s has been the programme of privatizations that the Thatcher government set in train, and which has influenced economic policy throughout the world - most recently in Eastern Europe as it moves away from socialism towards capitalism. This book stands back and examines what has been learnt from the privatization programme mnow completed, and considers what remains to be done.

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.Rich in titles on English life and social history, this collection spans the world as it was known to eighteenth-century historians and explorers. Titles include a wealth of travel accounts and diaries, histories of nations from throughout the world, and maps and charts of a world that was still being discovered. Students of the War of American Independence will find fascinating accounts from the British side of conflict. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++British LibraryT144061London: printed for J. Brindley; G. Hawkins; R. Dodsley; and J. Millan, 1744. viii, 4],283, 1]p.; 8