This book examines the rise and fall in the twentieth-century Western world of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), a chief instrument of state economic intervention. The authors offer historical perspectives on the origins and purpose of SOEs, their performance, and the reasons for their precipitate decline. The volume explores the theory of state business as well as the permutations and future prospects of the institution in practice. The contributors present studies of the development of state-owned enterprises in seven Western European countries and the United States.