ABSTRACT
At the end of the 1970s the nationalized industries in the UK accounted for nearly 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and employed nearly 10 per cent of all workers. Government-owned monopolies dominated transport (buses, rail and aviation), communications (postal services and telecoms) and the energy sector. Services provided by local government (such as refuse collection) and by the National Health Service accounted for a further important slice of enonomic activity. Nor was this picture unique to the UK as other contributions to this volume will show.
