This book examines the decline of the British economy in terms of the structural rigidity of its economic institutions and historic changes in the international economy. It argues that British institutions were conducive to economic development in a 19th-century world economy characterized by competitive capitalism, but that they posed a formidable obstacle to economic development in the 20th-century context of corporate capitalism. Specific issues covered include the pre- and post-World War I steel industries, the shipbuilding and automotive industries, education, research and development, finance and industry, regional development, and the role of the state.