First published in 1968 Managing the British Economy attempts to trace the development of what has passed for economic planning in Britain in the 1960’s and, at the same time, to observe the activities of those engaged in the operation and the effect of their actions on business and industry. In writing this book, the author has had in mind the difficulties of businessmen in keeping track of ‘who does what’ in the Economy. Experience in industry and in the field of management education has shown him that managers often have difficulties in placing their own operations in the national context and he attempts here to help the reader understand how the system works in practice. How do the new arrangements tie in with the old? How does any government influence the running of the economy? What kind of system are we moving towards? This is a must read for scholars and researchers of British economy and economic history of Britain.

Before the First World War, the British Admiralty conceived a plan to win rapid victory in the event of war with Germany-economic warfare on an unprecedented scale.This secret strategy called for the state to exploit Britain's effective monopolies in banking, communications, and shipping-the essential infrastructure underpinning global trade-to create a controlled implosion of the world economic system. In this revisionist account, Nicholas Lambert shows in lively detail how naval planners persuaded the British political leadership that systematic disruption of the global economy could bring about German military paralysis. After the outbreak of hostilities, the government shied away from full implementation upon realizing the extent of likely collateral damage-political, social, economic, and diplomatic-to both Britain and neutral countries. Woodrow Wilson in particular bristled at British restrictions on trade. A new, less disruptive approach to economic coercion was hastily improvised. The result was the blockade, ostensibly intended to starve Germany. It proved largely ineffective because of the massive political influence of economic interests on national ambitions and the continued interdependencies of all countries upon the smooth functioning of the global trading system. Lambert's interpretation entirely overturns the conventional understanding of British strategy in the early part of the First World War and underscores the importance in any analysis of strategic policy of understanding Clausewitz's "political conditions of war."

Examining the innovations of economic policy in the UK, France and Germany in the 1960s, this book originally published in 1968, assesses the degree of success of these policies and draws conclusion for the oreintation of future policy. The book contrasts the long history of national planning in France with the equally long history of anti-p[lanning ideology in Germany and by close examination of the actual policies, brings out the relaities that lie behind the public attitudes. It discusses the problems which lead to planning interventions, followed by a chapter on the UK, France and Germany. It examines in details particular adaptations of policy: namely quantitative programming, monetary policy, fiscal policy, public expenditures, regional policy, prices and incomes policy and the balance of payments, comparing developments in all 3 countries. It also looks at the beginning of economic planning at the level of the EEC, with particular implications for British entry.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.