First published in 1971, when nationalized industries employed about 7 per cent of the labour force, and had annual investment programmes equal to those of all private manufacturing put together. The author shows that the facts of ministerial and parliamentary control were very different from what the public and Parliament thought at the time.

Preface. Part 1: The Powers of Boards and Ministers 1. A Dividing Line 2. The Select Committee on the Nationalized Industries 3. Whose Is the Policy? 4. Social Policy 5. Financial Obligations: The Treasury's Function 6. Financial Obligations: The Minister's Function 7. The Power of Appointment 8. Conclusion: A Practical Independence Part 2: The Persuasiveness of Ministers 9. Persuasion 10. Pressure Part 3: Alternative Developments 11. The Politicization of Administration 12. Subordination 13. Competition 14. The Discipline of the Finance Market 15. Why Nationalization Part 4: Strengthening Ministerial Control 16. Strategic Financial Control 17. Men and Machinery 18. A Digression on the Control of Social Policy 19. Conclusion. Index.