State and the market economy: Industrial patriotism and economic intervention in France

Jack Hayward presents an incisive and comprehensive discussion of the role of the French state in the French market economy. He demonstrates the scope of economic policy making and the limitations of an assertive state operating within the context of market forces.

France - under state leadership and guidance rapidly overcame her backwardness and acquired an enviable reputation, despite some spectacular fiascos, for sustained economic and industrial success. How was this achieved? What role was played by the state, private business and the trade unions?

Professor Hayward presents a general analysis of how the major actors in the French economic policy com munity interact and seek to influence government policy. He concludes with an assessment of the socialist attempt to challenge the priorities of French economic policy during the Mitterrand presidency and an illustration of the difficulty of combining crisis management and political innovation.