Other National Institute Projects

The half of the Institute’s time not devoted to forecasting was given to many other lines of activity.^[137] For example, early on, David enlisted Arthur Brown from Leeds University to head a team of young researchers to work on regional issues.

The next project concerned the process of technological diffusion, a com­paratively new research area. George Ray headed the project which also involved international comparisons involving cooperation with research insti­tutes in five other countries. This project attracted David’s involvement in particular. Besides a number of papers, the work resulted in a 1974 book entitled The Diffusion of New Industrial Processes: An International Study edited by Nasbeth and Ray. After that came Industrialization and the Basis of Trade, Batchelor et al. (1980) and The Management ofthe British Economy 1945-60, by Dow, subsequently extended and updated as British Economic Policy, 1960-74: Demand Management, edited by Blackaby. Meanwhile, Sig Prais and Peter Hart produced substantial work on industrial concentration, large firms and mergers. Eventually, this and Prais’s continuing work won for the National Institute the accolade of designated research center from the Economic and Social Research Council. A number of conferences were also launched which were designed to explore leading issues in economic policy, including incomes policy (see below), demand management, deindustrialisa­tion, and Britain’s trade and exchange rate policy.

In its later stages, this research was shared with Chatham House and the Policy Studies Institute. Some fifteen books were published under this joint sponsorship before 1987 under the heading “Studies in Public Policy”. David also visited the Brookings Institution (about which more below in Section 10 on funding at NIESR) and based the form of the NIESR’s conferences and publications on the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.

8