The State and the Market

Abstract

In no sphere of French policy have recent developments been more significant than in the area of economic policy. Their thrust has been to reduce the role of the state in the economy and turn the allocation of resources more directly over to market mechanisms. In many respects, this has been a general European trend. After 30 years distinguished by the growing role of the public sector in the economy, many European nations have rediscovered an enthusiasm for the market. The 1980s therefore, mark a watershed in postwar European political economy, and an account of recent developments in the French economy is largely a story of how France, too, came to embrace the market.