University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The structure and role of French public enterprise, 1944-1981

McComb, Robert Parks

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Description

Title
The structure and role of French public enterprise, 1944-1981
Author(s)
McComb, Robert Parks
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Baer, Werner W.
Department of Study
Economics
Discipline
Economics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Economics, General
  • Economics, History
Language
eng
Abstract
  • The focus of the new generation of French leadership which assumed power at the liberation of France in 1944 was to bring about a reorientation and restructuring of the French economy. The Malthusian practices of the pre-War order were blamed for the French debacle. Thus, economic policy makers sought means by which a new industrial dynamism could be introduced into the French economy which would foster sustained economic growth.
  • The French economy performed very well over the thirty years following 1944. Growth rates were generally above those of other Western industrialized economies while profound structural changes took place following the advent of the Common Market. The newly opened economy, however, led policy makers to place a premium on economic stability. As a result, the challenge to economic strategists was to achieve high growth and structural change in an environment of restrained inflation.
  • The public enterprise sector, largely constituted between the World Wars and after the Liberation in 1944-45, represents an important element in the French economy. This importance is not only apparent in terms of employment, investment and value-added, but also in terms of the location of the public firms in key industries and the exemplary dynamism these firms exhibited.
  • This study considers the structure and role of the non-financial public enterprise sector during the period 1944-1981. The structure of the sector is considered in quantitative terms in its aggregate as well as in its distribution within the economy. The structure of the industries and sectors in which the principal public firms are found is described. The juridical base for the sector is discussed and the arrangements for the control of these firms are analyzed.
  • The role of the public enterprises in the macroeconomy is studied. Three periods are discerned during which the use of public enterprise by the authority is considered: reconstruction, the opening to the outside and the post-1973 economic crisis. The broader political-economic environment is presented for each period and the public enterprise sector is discussed within that context.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/21627
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1989 McComb, Robert Parks

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