Originally published in 1981 but now with a new preface, this volume provided the first detailed comparative analysis of how local authorities in the UK and W. Germany faced up to the challenge of trying to help local industry and improve employment prospects.

1. The Local Authority as an Economic Agent: Possibilities and Limits 2. The Formal Framework for Local Economic Action: Powers, Functions and Finance in Britain 3. Policies and Activities 4. Administrative and Political Organisations: Conflict and Co-operation 5. Economic Policy-Making by Local Authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany 6. Programmes and Policies Compared 7. Organisation and Co-ordination Compared. Appendix: The English Case Studies: Methods and Selection