Opting for Oil
The Political Economy of Technological Change in the West German Industry, 1945-1961
Published on 20. April 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
276 pages
978-0-521-02576-8 (ISBN)
Description
This book investigates the causes, course and consequences of the shift in West German chemical technology from a coal to a petroleum basis between 1945 and 1961. It examines the historical underpinnings of the technological culture of the German chemical industry; changing political and economic constraints on technological decision-making in the post-war period; and the actual decision-making process within five individual firms. By addressing a wide variety of broader issues - including the origins and impact of the division of Germany; the effects of the Wirtschaftswunder, or economic miracle; European integration; and the changing role of the West German Federal Republic in the international political order - this book explains how West German industry regained and then retained a competitive position in world markets.
Reviews / Votes
'... finely crafted ... fine achievement in scholarly analysis.' NatureMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
424 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-02576-8 (9780521025768)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
Introduction; Part I. Background: 1. Politics and technological excellence: organic chemicals, 1860-1945: 2. Western German chemicals in flux, 1945-55; Part II. Bargaining from Strength: The Political Economy Of Technological Change, 1945-55: 3. A new agenda, 1949-55: Cold War, changing energy patterns and the development of West German chemical technology; 4. Rejoining the international community: international cooperation and technology transfer, 1951-5; Part III. Alternative Paths to Plenty: Case Studies from the mid-1950s: 5. Fifty-fifty with the petroleum multinationals: BASF, Shell, and Rheinische Olefinwerke; 6. Fifty-fifty with the petroleum multinationals: Bayer, British Petroleum, and Erdoelchemie; 7. Going it alone: Hoechst; 8. State's interest and technological change: Huels and cold-rubber technology; 9. End game strategies: the German coal industry and the Fischer-Tropsch process; Part IV. Consolidating the New Regime, 1957-61: 10. Petrochemicals triumphant, 1957-61; 11. Conclusion; Index.