This volume undertakes the examination and appraisal of the economic controls employed by the British Labor Government in attempting to regulate the output of the building industry in the years immediately following the Second World War. An unfortunate consequence of earlier preoccupation with purely income-generating aspects of investment activity was that insufficient consideration was given to the allocation of investment resources. It was precisely this latter problem, however, which became a matter of major concern to the Labor Government. Its building program in the postwar years is examined here with particular reference to the program's peculiar structure and organization and the availability of building workers and materials. Discussion also covers the Government's administrative machinery for regulating building demand and for determining the uses to which building resources were put, as well as the priorities which the Government attempted to impose upon the industry and the consequences of specific policy decisions which were made in attempting to enforce these priorities. The British experience during the years between 1945 and 1949 provides numerous insights into the requirements and the problems associated with centralized planning of the operation of a private industry. The attempt to regulate the building industry is of increasing relevance in view of the growing recognition that nationalization is no panacea and that government planning must be more and more concerned with influencing the behavior of privately-operated industries. The importance of the present study is further enhanced by the fact that it deals with a strategic investment­ goods industry which must inevitably play a major role in the current and future "development planning" of underdeveloped countries. This work, therefore, is of special interest to economists concerned with the problems of government economic planning. Moreover, because of its strong focus upon the organizational and administrative aspects of government planning, Economic Planning in the British Building Industry is of vital interest to political scientists and all students of public administration.

This book was the first detailed and systematic account of the property and construction sectors of the British economy. Developing out of a materialist theoretical perspective, Dr Smyth provides an alternative explanation of the different characteristics of the two sectors and rejects traditional notions of the 'backwardness' of the construction sector. The specific historical experience of the Second World War and the rebuilding it necessitated, provides the basis of this analysis and it is argued that the particular divergencies of the construction sector stem from periods of wider economic crisis. Similar periods of crisis have shaped the property sector which, dependent upon the complex relationship between ground rent, the value of the building and building rent, cannot be understood in terms of 'urban rent'. Property companies and the construction industry in Britain challenges both established and radical thinking and its historical account of the development, management and production of the built environment in the years since 1939 addresses some of the central concerns of human geography today.

Containing over 25,000 entries, this unique volume will be absolutely indispensable for all those with an interest in Britain in the twentieth century. Accessibly arranged by theme, with helpful introductions to each chapter, a huge range of topics is covered. There is a comprehensiveindex.

This is a detailed archive-based study of the economic planning of the Attlee governments, in which the author seeks to analyse the interaction between the decisions of central planners and the micro-economic effects of these decisions. Throughout the book, Martin Chick pays particular attention to the level, pattern and quality of fixed capital investment. At the same time, there is a continuous concern with the struggle between politicians, economists and industrialists over the mix of pricing mechanisms and administrative orders which were to be used in this period. This struggle permeated all discussions over matters such as the organisation of nationalised industries, the monopoly structure of nationalised industries, the allocation of resources and the promotion of higher productivity. The author also asks what impact, if any, economic planning had on the productivity performance of the UK economy.

This major study analyses the economic policies of the Attlee government.

Who is Joel Mokyr In addition to his current position as the Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, Joel Mokyr is an American-Israeli economic historian who was born in the Netherlands. He has been teaching economics and history at Northwestern University since 1994. Additionally, he has been serving as the Sackler Professorial Fellow at the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University and has done so since the year 2001. How you will benefit (I) Insights about the following: Chapter 1: Joel Mokyr Chapter 2: Industrial Revolution Chapter 3: Kondratiev wave Chapter 4: Economic history Chapter 5: Economic growth Chapter 6: Guns, Germs, and Steel Chapter 7: Marketplace of ideas Chapter 8: Daron Acemoglu Chapter 9: The Wealth and Poverty of Nations Chapter 10: The European Miracle Chapter 11: Avner Greif Chapter 12: Deirdre McCloskey Chapter 13: Economy Chapter 14: Great Divergence Chapter 15: Geography and wealth Chapter 16: Deskilling Chapter 17: Oded Galor Chapter 18: Nathan Rosenberg Chapter 19: Technological revolution Chapter 20: David de la Croix Chapter 21: Carl Benedikt Frey Who this book is for Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information about Joel Mokyr.