Big Business and the State in the Neoliberal Era: What Changed, What Didn’t?

The chapter documents patterns of both change and continuity in the structure of big business in Israel in the neoliberal era, and the role of state agencies vis-à-vis big business. Specifically, it discusses how privatization, financial liberalization, and direct and indirect state subsidies have contributed to the dominant position of large enterprises and business groups in the Israeli political economy. While neoliberal policies have served the interests of private capital and business groups, they were actively driven by state agencies seeking to regain autonomy by withdrawing unselective and burdensome state subsidies, and by shrinking and depoliticizing the public sector.