Handbook of Public Policy

Most notably in Britain (under Thatcher and then Blair) and in America (most especially under Reagan), but also in the majority of the other economically developed countries, the past quarter‐century has seen a drastic move from the post‐Second World War consensus on public policy. A move from “government” to “governance” and a move from state control to state regulation. Most especially a withdrawal of the state from the ownership of collective goods – railways, telecommunications, central banks, prisons, etc. Whether you like it or not (and I should say that in my personal view the long‐term disadvantages of this change...