Forging Industrial Policy: The United States, Britain, and France in the Railway Age

Frank Dobbin

Cambridge University Press, 1994 - Business & Economics - 262 pages

The United States, France, and Britain use markedly different kinds of industrial policies to foster economic growth. To understand the origins of these different policies, this book examines the evolution of public policies governing one of the first modern industries, the railroads. The author challenges conventional thinking in economics, political science, and sociology by arguing that cultural meaning plays an important role in the development of purportedly rational policies designed to promote industrial growth. This book has implications for the study of rational institutions of all sorts, including science, management, and economics, as well as for the study of culture.

Contents

• Political culture and industrial rationality: 1
• Political realism: 5
• Economic realism: 7
• Institutional realism: 9
• Culture and meaning in modern states: 10
• Institutionalized meaning systems: 12
• Rationalized meaning systems: 15
• Vocabulary for a cultural approach to policy: 18
• The argument: 19
• Political culture: 22
• Emergent industrial culture: 23
• Conclusion: 26
• The United States: 28
• American state structure: 30
• Railway policy: 35
• Planning: 36
• Federal planning: 38
• Finance: 40
• Federal promotion: 49
• Technical and managerial coordination: 59
• Pricing and competition: 64
• State regulation: 66
• Federal regulation: 75
• Conclusion: 91
• France: 95
• French state structure: 97
• French railway policy: 103
• Planning: 105
• The maturation of public planning: 108
• Finance: 116
• Should the railways be public or private?: 117
• Mixed construction and private operation: 123
• Technical and managerial coordination: 132
• The expansion of state controls: 135
• Pricing and competition: 141
• Early ratesetting: 142
• Industry structure and competition: 144
• The maturation of pricing and competition policy: 147
• Conclusion: 153
• Britain: 158
• British state structure: 160
• Railway policy: 165
• Planning: 166
• The battle over expropriation: 167
• Finance: 175
• Technical and managerial coordination: 178
• Safety: 180
• Operations gauge scheduling and time: 192
• Pricing and competition: 196
• Rates: 197
• Competition: 199
• Conclusion: 208
• Conclusion: 213
• The rise of industrial policy paradigms: 214
• Culture and rationality: 217
• Politics and rationality: 218
• Are interest groups primordial or constructed?: 219
• Does the strongest group always win?: 220
• Economics and rationality: 222
• The social origins of economic principles: 224
• Institutions and rationality: 227
• Conclusion: 230
• Bibliography: 233
• Index: 255

Bibliographic information

• Title: Forging Industrial Policy: The United States, Britain, and France in the Railway Age
• Author: Frank Dobbin
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, revised
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1994
• ISBN: 052162990X, 9780521629904
• Length: 262 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Economic History; Business & Economics / Economics / General; Social Science / Sociology / General; Transportation / Railroads / General