Since the Industrial Revolution, the economy of the UK has transformed from that of an industrial manufacturing giant to a service economy and a central hub for the financial sector. Energy and energy services derived from fossil fuels have played a key role as drivers behind this structural...

To what extent has the British economy declined compared to its competitors and what are the underlying reasons for this decline? Nicholas Crafts, one of the world's foremost economic historians, tackles these questions in a major new account of Britain's long-run economic performance. He argues...

"The book traces Britain's path from the first Industrial Revolution and global economic primacy through its subsequent long-term decline, the strengths and weaknesses of the Thatcherite response, and the improvement in relative economic performance that was sustained to the eve of the financial...