Political and Economic Planning - Böcker

European Organisations (1959) analyses the working methods and techniques of cooperation evolved by the eight principal European organisations – ECE, OEEC, The Council of Europe, NATO, WEU, ECSC, EEC and Euratom. These organisations were set up to meet the need for postwar economic recovery, and the challenge of the cold war. They were designed to bring about continuous and comprehensive cooperation, and this book assesses the reasons for their success or failure and shows which have been the most effective – and why European nations began the move towards the creation of a ‘supra-national’ state.

Industrial Trade Associations (1957) is a full-scale study of all aspects of trade associations found in the manufacturing industry. It looks at their practices, commonplace and controversial, some of which had been investigated by the Monopolies Commission and led to the Restrictive Trade Practices Act.

Growth in the British Economy (1960) examines the slow rate of growth in the British economy and evaluates the view that Britain is lagging behind other industrial countries. It points to aspects of Britain’s economic performance which could have serious implications for the country’s future. Among the factors which may have been responsible for Britain’s relatively poor showing, the report looks particularly at the influence of government policy on the level and distribution of investment, and at the way in which policies to deal with inflation and the balance of payments have influenced long-term prospects. The impacts of taxation, of the policies of the nationalised industries, and of governmental expenditure on defence and the social services are also examined in detail. The report assesses the adequacy of the machinery for planning and coordinating economic policy, and the roles of management and labour in promoting or hindering economic growth. Economic policies in the United States, France and Germany are compared in detail with those in Britain.