Britain's Economic Miracle

Successive Conservative governments brought about dramatic changes in the conduct of British economic policy. The prescriptions of "Keynesianism", once unchallenged as the theoretical orthodoxy, have been turned on their head. Privatization, deregulation and market liberalization have replaced prices and incomes controls and state interventionism. Rigid targets - first for the money supply then for the exchange rate have swept away the earlier, discretionary approach to demand management. Whichever political party is in power, the impact of these changes on the shape of British economic policy is bound to endure. "Britain's Economic Miracle: Myth or Reality?" assesses the changes in economic policy and their impact on the economy. It is divided into two parts. Part I focuses on the macroeconomy, with chapters on the core issues of growth inflation, unemployment and the balance of payments. Part II concentrates on the key micro issues, including privatization, taxation and regional issues. In his introduction the editor provides the background to these chapters by examining the theoretical basis of the different policy innovations and by exploring appropriate analytical models.