THE STATE, CONSTITUTIONS AND IMPLEMENTING ECONOMIC-POLICY - PRIVATIZATION AND REGULATION IN THE UK, FRANCE AND THE USA

This contribution draws on previous studies of privatization in the UK and France and of regulation in the UK and the USA to assess the effe cts of constitutional cultures on economic policy making. It is sugges ted that the constitutional arrangements of the UK are highly peculiar in that they have a weak concept of the state and instead concentrate on personalised modes of governance and informal means of regulation. This permits extensive discretion to government in policy implementat ion, and makes the UK model inappropriate for use elsewhere, although European Community developments are now reducing the UK peculiarities.