Unemployment: A Problem of Policy
Analysis of British Experience and Prospects

This 1991 book exposes the major factors determining trends in unemployment as a basis for considering the likely developments and policy options.

G. D. N. Worswick (Author)

9780521400343, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 February 1991

300 pages, 15 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.61 kg

"...well written in a nontechnical and approachable way." David Blanchflower, Journal of Economic Literature

The high level of unemployment in Britain in the 1980s led many people to believe that it would continue indefinitely, and many arguments were advanced to explain it. After a preliminary examination of the statistics of employment and unemployment in Britain, this 1991 book exposes the major factors determining their trends as a basis for considering the likely developments and policy options. The study covers most of the explanations found in academic debate as well as in popular belief, drawing on a wide range of empirical research, including systematic international comparisons as well as case studies of particular interest. The analysis is carried out under four main headings: structural change; the wage question; macroeconomic policy; and the international dimension. The book concludes with a consideration of the practicability of the different policies which emerge.

List of tables
List of charts
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Concepts and measurements
Part I. Structural Change: 3. Technology and employment
4. The impact of information technology
5. Structural unemployment
6. The regional problem
7. Who will provide the jobs?
Part II. The Wage Question: 8. Wages and employment
9. Wage subsidies
10. Profit sharing
11. Incomes policy
Part III. Macroeconomic Policy: 12. The theoretical background
13. Evidence relating to the economy
14. Evidence relating to policy
15. Reflections on macroeconomic policy
Part IV. International Dimension: 16. Theory and institutions
17. The external constraint
18. The European dimension
19. Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Index.

Subject Areas: Macroeconomics [KCB]