In this 1998 book, experts in British industrial history analyse the causes of nationalisation in the 1940s.

Part I. Government and Industry 1920-50: 1. Industrial organisation and economic factors in nationalisation Robert Millward; 2. Labour, the Conservatives and nationalisation John Singleton; Part II. Case Studies of Industry Organisation, Performance and Nationalisation: 3. The coal industry: images and realities on the road to nationalisation David Greasley; 4. The changing role of government in British civil air transport 1919-49 Peter Lyth; 5. The motor vehicle industry Sue Bowden; 6. The railway companies and the nationalisation issue 1920-50 Gerald Crompton; 7. The motives for gas nationalisation; practicality or ideology John F. Wilson; 8. Public ownership and the British arms industry 1920-50 David Edgerton; 9. The water industry 1900-51: a failure of public policy? John A. Hassan; 10. Debating the nationalisation of the cotton industry, 1918-50 John Singleton; Part III. Government and the Process of Industrial Change in the 1940s: 11. 'The thin edge of the wedge?': nationalisation and industrial structure during the Second World War Peter Howlett; 12. The political economy of nationalisation: the electricity industry Martin Chick; 13. Partners and enemies: the government's decision to nationalise steel 1944-48 Ruggiero Ranieri; Part IV. Review and Conclusions: 14. The ownership of British industry in the post-war era: an explanation Robert Millward and John Singleton; Index.