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OverviewBetween 1980 and 1985, the French economy and industry faced a dramatic crisis; in the ten years that followed, it witnessed a remarkable revival. How did the French economy make this transition? While the state is still an important economic agent in France, and the market certainly has become more central in the organization of the French economy, both state- and market-centered perspectives fail to understand critical elements of this adjustment. Building on the new Varieties of Capitalism approach in political economy which puts firms at the center of the analysis, this book argues that the post-war, state-led system changed into a system organized by and around the large firms. Large firms have always been central in the French post-war economic development model. In the past, however, they adapted to patterns set by the central state. By exploiting the possibilities in government policies in different areas such as finance, labour relations, and regional policies, the large firms were able to induce their main interlocutors - the state, banks, labour unions, workers, and small firms - to adjust in a way which was congruent with their own interests. From subservient economic agents, they became the drivers of economic adjustment. Through this case study of readjustment in France, this book offers a subtle critique of neo-institutionalist perspectives on firms. Institutional frameworks do not simply offer scenarios for adjustment, but are themselves constructions of economic and political actors and therefore subject to change and reorganization. By analysing how large firms in France, arguably one of the least likely places to harbour such endogenous capacities, changed their institutional environment to fit their own needs, this book offers an important new perspective on the political economy of industrial and economic change. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Bob Hancké (, Lecturer in European Political Economy, European Institute, London School of Economics)Publisher: Oxford University Press Imprint: Oxford University Press Dimensions: Width: 16.20cm , Height: 1.90cm , Length: 24.20cm Weight: 0.494kg ISBN: 9780199252053ISBN 10: 019925205 Pages: 236 Publication Date: 25 July 2002 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: To order  Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us. Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: State, Market, and Firms in the French Political Economy 1: Making Sense of France 2: The Societé Bloquée Revisited: The Failure of Economic Reforms in France 3: Rethinking the French Political Economy: Bringing Firms Back In Part II: Corporate Change in France: Case Studies 4: Cars are Cars: Industrial Restructuring in Renault 5: Changing the Power Grid: Industrial Reorganization at EDF 6: Grinding Vegetables - to a Halt: Delayed Adjustment in Moulinex 7: The Argument Extended: Industrial Restructuring in France Part III: Conclusion 8: Large Firms, Institutions, and Industrial RenewalReviews... the analysis presented is well informed, carefully crafted, and stimulating. Enterprise & Society ... the analysis presented is well informed, carefully crafted, and stimulating. * Enterprise & Society * Author InformationBob Hancké studied Sociology at the Free University of Brussels and Political Economy at MIT. From 1994 to 2000 he was a research fellow at the Wissenschaftszentrum in Berlin. His research interests are the comparative analysis of economic and industrial restructuring in advanced capitalist countries; the comparative analysis of labour relations systems and trajectories of economic adjustment in advanced capitalist countries; EMU, wage bargaining systems, and macro-economic policy. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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