This thesis examines state involvement in the rationalisation of British industry between the wars, offering both an overview and case studies of four major industries (coal, steel, cotton, shipbuilding). It considers the contemporary meaning of rationalisation, the reasons for Government interest, the efforts made by the state to reform industry and the results achieved. Rationalisation described forms of industrial organisation which it was claimed could improve the efficiency of British industry. But advocates offered little evidence that significant economic benefits would accrue. Despite this, Governments stressed the importance of rationalisation in the 1920s because they had no alternative suggestions for dealing with pressing problems of unemployment and export depression. However, down to 1931, the state did little directly to reorganise industry. It merely urged the private sector to act vigorously, an approach that was ineffectual. In the 1930s, official interest in rationalisation diminished. The National Government was more concerned with propping up the existing industrial structure than with seeking reforms that lowered costs. It intervened, and with some success, in the organisational affairs of certain major trades. But this was only to secure limited goals like curtailing competition to prevent instability.

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This thesis is an exploration of the UK knowledge economy, and its implications for the present and future lives of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) doctoral students at a research-intensive UK university. The research methodology included a critical literature review, focus groups, a large scale survey, and depth interviews. The thesis reports that the UK knowledge economy is a known phenomenon to young scientists and, across the population of young scientists, five distinct moral positions towards the knowledge economy are discerned. These five moral positions form a spectrum, ranging from ‘anti’ to ‘pro’ knowledge economy. Young scientists’ moral positions on the knowledge economy are revealed to be a key aspect of their scientific identity. That the scientific identities of young scientists are in part moral contradicts dominant images of the scientist who, in Steven Pinker’s words, is often construed as an ‘amoral nerd’ (Pinker in Shapin, 2008: xv). Young scientists’ conceptions of identity are however, notable for their narrowness. Young scientists continue to rely upon the paradigm of modernity when forming their moral position on the knowledge economy, and constructing their identity. Accordingly, they view scientific identity as solid and stable. A game theory informed analysis illuminates how young scientists strategically tailor their scientific life in order to construct and sustain a stable identity; the achievement of which, they believe, is the best preparation for a scientific career. The irony of this finding is that contemporary science is shaped by postmodern forces: the knowledge economy and liquid modernity. These forces generate diversity, contradiction and perpetual change. It is argued that young scientists must develop a liquid scientific identity, fit for these conditions. Three reforms of the STEM PhD are proposed to enable universities to support young scientists to ‘avoid fixation and keep the options open’ (Bauman, 1995: 20).

This thesis is concerned with an empirical investigation of the financial performance of UK financial institutions over the period 1980-2015. This period reflects numerous changes in the development of the UK economy and in the evolution and financial deepening of its financial system including also the deregulation and liberalisation of financial markets that culminated in financial institutions being able to compete actively in markets for financial services where previously they were prohibited; the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 and the Eurozone debt crisis which had a strong negative impact on the UK financial sector and resulted in the move away from an informal regulatory structure toward a more rigorous and formal structure of regulation. These developments make it necessary to investigate empirically important factors that shed light on the performance of UK financial institutions which should be of interest to policy makers and regulatory authorities. Following the introduction to the thesis in chapter one and a review of the literature which is presented in chapter two, there are four themes which is the primary focus of this thesis. The first theme, which occupies chapter three investigate, using a panel data regression approach, whether a number of the key drivers of performance affect the financial performance of UK financial institutions over crisis and non-crisis periods, and whether, by means of EGARCH, the risk taking behaviour of financial institutions have a decided impact on their financial performance. The findings indicate that the strength of the UK economy underpins the overall profitability of the sectors. Additionally, we provide strong evidence of risk undertaken is a key variable which impacts profitability in all financial sectors, confirming the risk-return hypothesis. The banking sector is also able to exert greater performance through a highly concentrated market. The second theme, taken up in chapter four, investigates the changing risk profile of UK financial institutions using rolling regression, the Kalman filter, DCC-GARCH, bivariate BEKK GARCH and bivariate GJR-GARCH methodologies. The results confirm the literature by determining beta to be a time-varying variable. We also contribute to the literature by demonstrating the insurance and banking sectors possesses greatest systemic risk throughout our sample years, which can be attributed to their central role in financial markets, risk management and their contribution to the economy. The third theme, which is the focus of chapter five examines the impact of macroeconomic news and other announcements on the stock prices of UK financial institutions. We utilise the event study, SUR and GJR-GARCH techniques to determine the impact of macroeconomic news, which we demonstrated investors were able to distinguish the risk levels of UK banks. Moreover, during periods of crisis government announcements are just as effective as the Bank of England to restore confidence in the financial system. We demonstrated how integrated financial markets are in today’s economic climate due to globalisation. Whereby, announcements from Western economies had a greater impact on UK non-bank financials than combined Bank of England and Government announcements. The fourth theme, which is contained in chapter six assessed the impact of regulatory changes by the UK authorities and other relevant regulatory bodies towards the security prices of UK financial institutions through event study, EGARCH and VAR GJR-GARCH techniques. The Vickers report sought to implement new standards to create financial stability and avert future crisis periods. This led to negative impacts on equity prices on the financial sectors, demonstrating the risk-return hypothesis, along with higher capital requirement regulations mirroring this result. The research provides a basis to develop in-depth knowledge of the UK financial system in order to improve risk management, allocation of resources, decision making by financial institutional managers’ and aid policy makers future decisions to improve market conditions for financial institutions, which will aid overall economic prosperity.

Access to a safe and inexpensive source of energy is one of society’s essential needs that helps to support economic growth and development. Yet, there are a number of current challenges in the developed world that pose a threat to its energy security such as the high import dependency in Europe from politically unstable regions and the long term environmental risks from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Based on scientific estimates from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) fusion research and development site, fusion power could generate high volumes of decarbonised electricity that could begin to replace electricity sources from oil, gas and coal during the middle and latter half of this century. However, fusion power currently exists in a non-commercialised state and so the use of robust techno-economic and econometric models are required in order to estimate the role that fusion power could play within the context of a future energy mix. The single equation, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model of cointegration analysis is used to estimate the nuclear fission-GDP-CO2 nexus. Nuclear fission is used as the guide for fusion power due to the similarities in energy-releasing nuclear reactions and complex power plant technology. A comparative analysis between nuclear fission and environmental taxes is performed within a multivariate framework. The UK Government’s 2050 Energy Calculator is subsequently recalibrated in order to generate projections of the future energy mix with fusion power included. Multiequation econometric analyses are performed using Johansen’s maximum likelihood (ML) estimator of cointegration analysis and the vector error correction model (VECM), with the latter used to estimate projections of economic variables to 2050. The 2050 estimates are fed into a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and shocks from the different energy mix pathways are applied to the CGE model, with policy response adjustments and wider economic implications estimated for future policy consideration. It was found that environmental taxes have a stronger long run relationship with CO2 emissions abatement than electricity generated from nuclear fission, with the implication that commercialised fusion power would need a consistent and safe level of electricity generation in order for it to have a strong long run correspondence to CO2 emissions abatement. The next empirical chapter finds that a configuration of the UK’s future energy mix that includes fusion power is able to meet the 80% emissions reduction target in 2050 based on 1990 levels, while providing a cheaper cost of the entire energy system than the expert pathways that were developed by multinational organisations. Finally, it was found that the shocks on aggregate capital investment in the CGE model from the Fusion Pathway and the respective policy response adjustments produce a more stable economic environment in 2050 than the shocks and policy response adjustments from a competing expert pathway, with the latter producing distortionary increases in overall prices, indirect taxes and its environmental tax constituent.

Our analysis aims to further the understanding of the factors that determine economic activity and productivity growth at the regional level. More specifically, we compile three essays investigating some of the sources that may be held responsible for the differential economic performance of regions in India and the UK, while providing evidence drawn from two of the fastest growing sectors in each country: Indian registered manufacturing and the UK service sector. India is currently one of the top-10 largest economies in the world while exhibiting the second largest GOP amongst emerging economies. At an average rate of GOP growth between six and seven per cent per year, India is forecasted to take over Italy's position in G7 by 2016, and shortly later achieve levels of domestic output comparable to those of France (2019) and United Kingdom (2023). Despite its spectacular confederate economic performance, however, the regional disparity in domestic state product has widened significantly, especially following the post reform (1991) era. Our first two essays discuss these disparities and develop two simple theoretical frameworks which are then tested out rigorously using cutting-edge econometric techniques, and snowing how the distribution of national investment in infrastructure across states should be expected to affect overall economic activity. Our results indicate that investment in infrastructure is a major determinant of regional economic performance and a central factor on the decision of firms to locate across states. Finally, the third essay discusses the distribution of economic acti~ity in the UK, focusing on a sector that has so far failed to attract much research attention, possibly due to the, till recently, limited availability of usable data. Using a simple theoretical model of Hotelling type as a general guide, we exploit firm-level data (50,000 observations) for the years 1997-2003 to show how the existence of knowledge spillovers leads to the concentration of dqmestic retailers in regions where the presence of Multinational Enterprisers (MNE) is most eminent. Our results confirin the existence of positive spillovers, which we then find to be local in nature and to increase with the absorptive capacity of firms.

This thesis examines the conduct of economic policy from the moment Hugh Gaitskell joined the Treasury in 1950 as Stafford Cripps' deputy to Rab Butler's departure in December 1955. It shows that, contrary to the prevailing view of this period, there was no consensus about the ways in which the economy should be managed. There was a sustained argument over the use of physical controls, monetary policy and direct taxation. This thesis examines Gaitskell's economic thought and the underlying economic and political rationales for the positions taken by the Labour and Conservative Parties. In examining the structure of economic policy-making, this thesis demonstrates that ministerial determination of policy is far more important than previous authors have assumed and that this is why a developing consensus among civil servants about the conduct of economic policy is not reflected in outputs. 'Set the People Free' was more than a political soundbite. This thesis is based on extensive research in the Public Record Office, but it also makes use of private and Parliamentary papers as well as elite interviews to illuminate the various inputs into policy-making and the way policy developed over the period.

This research explores the role and rising importance of EU R&D instruments in regional economic development in the UK since 1999. It poses the simple question of 'who gets what, and why', and how this conforms to theories of innovation. The approach combines an analysis of both the EU's Structural Funds and Framework Programmes, two instruments which are rarely considered together at the regional level. The research design is informed by a critical realist perspective which incorporates recent thinking on the role that relational geographies play in influencing social structures, the behaviour of groups and individuals and the complex interplay between these. The study centres on a qualitative, multiple case-study, approach using the UK's regions and Devolved Administrations as the unit of analysis. The study provides a robust empirical evidential base to the pattern of policy and practice running through the EU's R&D instruments in the UK and sheds new light on the 'territorial' debate which is prevalent both in EU policy circles and academic theorising. The research highlights the tendency for regional policy-makers to fall back on narratives extolling local capacity, local knowledge spillovers and locally-orientated networks. The research demonstrates that in a world of flows spaces do matter, and that the boundaries of these spaces can exert power. Equally, however, to assume that the region forms a natural arena for collaboration is ill-advised. The thesis finds that current thinking on patterns of spatial innovation underplays the importance of the territorial dialectic between the geographically proximate and the relational. It finds that the parallel worlds of practice revealed by the Structural Funds and the Framework Programmes epitomize the dialectical space of the region. The work illustrates the complex, divided, spaces forming administrative regions, and how policy-makers shape, and create, these spaces through their actions when seeking to construct the knowledge economy.

The association between economic and financial stability and influence of macroeconomic policies on financial sector creates scope of active policy role in financial stability. Nevertheless, relying on single policy is not the best scheme as recent studies emphasises on coordinated monetary and fiscal efforts for economic stability. However, existing literature on the subject does not provide much insight into the association between macroeconomic policy coordination and financial stability. Prime objective of macroeconomic policies has been to achieve the economic stability in the form of economic growth, price stability and employment. As a contribution to existing body of knowledge, this study has analysed the implications of macroeconomic policy interaction and coordination for financial stability, proxied by financial assets i.e. equity and bonds price oscillation. The empirical analysis employing a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model suggests that an accommodating monetary and disciplined fiscal stance has been optimal for stock as well as bond markets. There is also ample evidence of interdependence between monetary and fiscal policies and this interrelation necessitates coordination between them for the sake of financial stability. This study also analysed the symmetry of financial markets responses to macroeconomic policy interaction. It was found that in response to macroeconomic policy interaction the equity and bond markets showed homogenous and identical symmetry. To test the robustness of our optimal policy combination and overcome the limitation of a single empirical approach (Jeffrey-Lindley's paradox), In addition to the VAR model estimated by Frequentist approach this study also employed an NK-OSGE framework with Bayesian estimation. Empirical results obtained from alternative empirical approaches complemented each other and absence of policy coordination found to be damaging for financial stability. In the short-term financial markets showed asymmetric response to optimal policy combination which is a reflection of portfolio adjustment. However, in long term there was evidence homogenous response and co-movement between the financial markets. The optimal policy combination was also analysed in the context of institutional design and major financial events. It was found that macroeconomic policies and even their combination was not very effective during the ERM membership, joining currency union in any form could reduce the capability of local policy makers to coordinate and influence domestic financial sector. Secondly, impact of macroeconomic policies and their combination significantly increased Post-independence of the Bank of England. However, the suggested policy combination was expansionary fiscal and passive monetary policy stance, considering the fact that it has heterogeneous response from the stock and bond markets, unless we are targeting a particular market in the short-run. Hence we can recommend that the intuitional autonomy in the form instrument independence could bring financial stability, however there is strong necessity of coordination even in Post-PMC and the BoE independence. In the Post-Dot Com Bubble and adoption of Consumer Price Index as monetary policy target, monetary policy did not while fiscal policy as well as policy combination did show significant impact on the financial markets. Hence we would have two policy implication and recommendations (a) during the periods of stable economic and financial environment the monetary as well as fiscal policies shows milder individual impact on stock as well as bond markets (b) however the macroeconomic policy combinations remained effective even if the individual influence of macroeconomic policies become less prominent. Consequently, we rule out notion that the monetary policy should only focused on price stability ignoring cooperation with fiscal authority as such a stance also adversely affect financial sector.

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