Экономика Великобритании и диалектика её развития

Government and Industry.

The Department of Trade and Industry has specified its objectives for industrial policy as:

-working for trade liberalisation;

-promoting British exports;

-stimulating innovation;

-improving the flow of information to business;

-encouraging competition;

-working towards a light but effective framework of market regulation;

-reduci

ng administrative burdens on business;

-consulting business and consumers when developing policy; and

-helping the less well-off regions.

Small Firms

Small businesses employ more than a third of the private sector workforce and are responsible for one-sixth of total turnover. The Government provides financial assistance and guidance to help with problems affecting small companies.

Inward Investment

Britain is considered an attractive location for inward investment, because of its membership of the EC and proximity to other European markets, And low corporate and personal taxation. Foreign-owned firms are offered the same incentives by the Government as British-owned ones.

Regulation of Markets

While preferring to let markets operate as freely as possible, the Government recognises that intervention is sometimes needed. Hence, it regulates monopolies, mergers, anti-competitive practices, restrictive trade practices, and resale price maintenance. In 1991 six monopoly situations were reported on and 185 mergers qualified for investigation.

Education and Training

The Government takes steps to see that education and training are broadly based and that people of all ages can acquire relevant knowledge and skills. Industrial and commercial matters are being given a more prominent place in school and post-school curricula, and business people are playing a bigger role in the management of educational institutions.

The Government has established a network of business-led local bodies to supervise training, education and enterprise programmes on its behalf.

Public Finance.

Central government raises money from individuals and companies through direct and indirect taxation. It spends money on goods and services, such as health and defence, and as payments to people, for instance, social security.

The main sources of revenue are personal income tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, valued added tax (VAT), and customs and excise duties.

Other sources include National Insurance contributions, vehicle excise duty and local taxes on people and businesses.

Industrial Sectors.

In some sectors of the economy, a small number of large companies are responsible for a sizeable percentage of total production, notably in the vehicle, aerospace and transport equipment industries. Private business concerns account for the greater part of activity in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, distribution, and financial and miscellaneous service sectors. Over half of companies’ funds for investment are internally generated. Banks are the chief source of external finance, although firms are turning increasingly to equity finance.

Around 250 British industrial companies each have an annual turnover of more than $500 million. British Petroleum (BP) is the eleventh largest industrial grouping in the world and the second largest in Europe. Five British firms are among the leading 25 European Community companies.

The ten largest manufacturing concerns are BAT Industries (tobacco products, food, etc), Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), Grand Metropolitan (food, drink, etc), British Aerospace, Unilever (chemicals), Hanson Trust (various), Ford, General Electric Company (GEC-electronics), British Steel, and SmithKline Beecham (pharmaceuticals).

In 1991 the largest output within manufacturing was in electrical and instrument engineering ($13,700 million); followed by food, drink and tobacco ($13,600 million); mechanical engineering ($12,600 million); paper, printing and publishing ($11,600 million); and chemicals and synthetic fibres ($10,800 million).

The average manufacturing company is fairly small. Four-fifths employ fewer than 20 people. These make up 10 per cent of the manufacturing workforce. Businesses employing more than 1,000 people, 0.4 per cent of all businesses, account for 55 per cent of employees.

Power Generation

Britain has the largest energy resources of any EC country. Almost all the country’s energy is provided by oil, natural gas and coal. The electricity supply and gas industries have been privatised, with gas increasingly used to produce electricity in combined cycle gas turbine power stations. Around 20 per cent of electricity is supplied by nuclear power stations.

British companies sell a vast range of plant and equipment to the energy industries.

Offshore Industries

Britain is the world’s ninth largest oil producer and the fifth largest gas producer. Developing North Sea oil and gas has created a huge support industry offering equipment and services to oil and gas companies at home and abroad.

The two leading British oil companies are BP and Shell (the latter is part Dutch). The offshore services industry recorded orders for development work worth $6,000 million in 1991, nearly 80 per cent of which went to British firms.

Mineral and Metal Products

Producing about 80 per cent of Britain’s crude steel, British Steel is the fourth biggest steel company in the Western world.

Just under half of total output is exported. The major areas of steel production and processing are in Wales, northern and eastern England, and the English Midlands.

In addition to its large output of non-ferrous metals and their alloys, like aluminium and copper, Britain is also a major producer of specialised alloys for the aerospace, electronic, petrochemical, nuclear and other fuel industries. Titanium and titanium alloys, for example, are used in aircraft production. The ceramics industry manufactures domestic pottery, sanitaryware and tiles. Britain is the world’s leading manufacturer and exporter of fine bone china.

Chemicals and Synthetic Fibres

Britain’s chemical industry is the third largest in Western Europe. The country’s fourth biggest manufacturing industry, it exports nearly 50 per cent of production, making it Britain’s biggest single export earner. The most rapid growth in recent years has been in pharmaceuticals, pesticides and cosmetics. ICI is the fourth largest chemical company in the world and one of Britain’s largest exporting companies.

The most important products in the organic chemicals range are ethylene, benzene and propylene. A substantial proportion of world research and development in agrochemicals is conducted in Britain. Notable British discoveries include pyrethroid insecticides, ICI’s diquat and paraquat herbicides, systemic fungicides and aphicides, and genetically engineered microbial pesticides.

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