First published in 1987. Unemployment is currently the major economic concern in developed economies. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the economics of unemployment. It concentrates on theories of the labour market and examines the critical inter-relationships with the rest of the economy. It provides a thorough evaluation of theory and extensive consideration of the relevant empirical evidence. It emphasises the multi-causal nature of unemployment and concludes that policy-makers should respond with a multi-faceted mix of policies.

Expectations, Employment and Prices brings Keynesian economics into the 21st century by providing a new paradigm that explains how high unemployment could potentially persist forever without a little help from the government. The book fills in logical gaps that were missing from Keynes' General Theory of Employment Interest and Money by reconciling some of its key ideas with modern economic theory. Central bankers throughout the world are talking now about developing a second instrument of monetary policy in addition to controlling the interest rate. Roger Farmer directly addresses this issue and offers new creative monetary policy proposals and suggestions for the design of new financial institutions for the 21st century.

How Non-Permanent Workers Learn and Develop is an empirically based exploration of the challenges and opportunities non-permanent workers face in accessing quality work, learning, developing occupational identities and striving for sustainable working lives. Based on a study of 100 non-permanent workers in Singapore, it offers a model to guide thinking about workers' learning and development in terms of an 'integrated practice' of craft, entrepreneurial and personal learning-to-learn skills. The book considers how strategies for continuing education and training can better fit with the realities of non-permanent work. Through its use of case studies, the book exams the significance of non-permanent work and its rise as a global phenomenon. It considers the reality of being a non-permanent worker and reactions to learning opportunities for these individuals. The book draws these aspects together to present a conceptual frame of 'integrated practices', challenging educational institutions and training providers to design and deliver learning and the enacted curriculum not as separate pieces of a puzzle, but as an integrated whole. With conclusions that have wider salience for public policy responses to the rise of non-permanent work, this book will be of great interest to academics and researchers in the fields of adult education, educational policy and lifelong learning.

This international book analyses the impact of digitisation in labour markets, on labour relationships and also on labour processes. The rapid progress of modern disruptive technologies and AIs and their multiple applications to each phase of the labour production system, are changing the production rules on a global scale with significant impacts in every aspect of work. As new technologies transform work patterns and change the type of jobs available - destroying some while creating others - and even the nature of the tasks performed, numerous legal problems arise which are challenging to legislators and legal scholars who need to find appropriate solutions to them. Considering the labour law issues which have been created by technological developments and currently affect the work of millions worldwide, this book highlights the full scope of these issues, suggesting solutions to emerging problems and ways to mitigate the risks brought about through technological advancement. Approaching the present debate with perspectives on legal problems with expertise from a wide range of different countries, this book presents informed and scholarly studies which answer the challenges that new technologies present in labour markets, private lives and labour processes.

'Gracie tells the story of her struggle and eventual triumph as a way of encouraging us, of changing our society, of giving us all courage . . . Equal is a very important book' Sandi Toksvig Equal pay has been the law for half a century. But women often get paid less than men, even when they're doing equal work. Mostly they don't know because pay is secret. But what if a woman finds out? What should she do? In Equal, award-winning journalist Carrie Gracie covers her own experience of holding her employer - the BBC - to account and investigates why we're still being paid unequally. Equal will open your eyes, fix your resolve and give you the tools to act - and act now. 'Equal tells a personal story that changed the public debate' Guardian 'Pulls no punches' Sunday Times 'Full of sound advice for women' Observer 'A gripping personal story told with warmth and wit' Julia Gillard, former Australian Prime Minister Longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award 2019

The Multilevel Politics of Trade presents a timely comparative analysis of eight federations (plus the European Union) to explore why some sub-federal actors have become more active in trade politics in recent years. As the contributing authors find, there is considerable variation in the intensity and modes of sub-federal participation. This they attribute to three key factors: the distinctive institutional features of federal systems; the nature and scope of trade policy and trade agreements; and the extent of social mobilization that accompanies a particular trade policy conversation. As a whole, The Multilevel Politics of Trade argues that sub-federal actors' interests (jurisdictional, political, and economic) are what motivate them to participate in trade debates. However, institutional configurations, coupled with the influence of civil society actors, political parties, and others determine the nature and scope of that participation. Informed by a deep knowledge of federal dynamics, this volume provides extensive comparative analyses of all seven of the North American and European federations and represents a significant intervention into the study of both federalism and political economy.

Bryan M. Evans, Stephen McBride, and their contributors delve further into the more practical, ground-level side of the austerity equation in Austerity: The Lived Experience. Economically, austerity policies cannot be seen to work in the way elite interests claim that they do. Rather than soften the blow of the economic and financial crisis of 2008 for ordinary citizens, policies of austerity slow growth and lead to increased inequality. While political consent for such policies may have been achieved, it was reached amidst significant levels of disaffection and strong opposition to the extremes of austerity. The authors build their analysis in three sections, looking alternatively at theoretical and ideological dimensions of the lived experience of austerity; how austerity plays out in various public sector occupations and policy domains; and the class dimensions of austerity. The result is a ground-breaking contribution to the study of austerity politics and policies.

Young Working Class Men in Transition uses a unique blend of concepts from the sociologies of youth and masculinity combined with Bourdieusian social theory to investigate British young working-class men's transition to adulthood. Indeed, utilising data from biographical interviews as well as an ethnographic observation of social media activity, this volume provides novel insights by following young men across a seven-year time period. Against the grain of prominent popular discourses that position young working-class men as in 'crisis' or as adhering to negative forms of traditional masculinity, this book consequently documents subtle yet positive shifts in the performance of masculinity among this generation. Underpinned by a commitment to a much more expansive array of emotionality than has previously been revealed in such studies, young men are shown to be engaged in school, open to so called 'women's work' in the service sector, and committed to relatively egalitarian divisions of labour in the family home. Despite this, class inequalities inflect their transition to adulthood with the 'toxicity' of neoliberalism - rather than toxic masculinity - being core to this reality. Problematising how working-class masculinity is often represented, Young Working Class Men in Transition both demonstrates and challenges the portrayal of working class masculinity as a repository of homophobia, sexism and anti-feminine acting. It will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as youth studies, masculinity studies, gender studies, sociology of education and sociology of work.

Equal is an inspiring, personal and campaigning book about how we should and can fight for equal pay and other kinds of equality in the workplace, by former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie. Gracie joined a group of high-profile BBC women who challenged the national broadcaster over equal pay after enforced disclosures revealed huge gaps between top men and women. Gracie had insisted on equal pay at the time of her China posting, and after trying with other BBC women to put things right through negotiation, she eventually resigned her post complaining publicly of a 'secretive and illegal' pay culture. Her protest triggered a parliamentary inquiry into BBC pay, and after a protracted internal complaints process, she won an apology from the BBC and a settlement which she donated to the Fawcett Society. In Equal Gracie will tell her own story, explore why it is often so hard for women to assert their value in the workplace and give practical guidance on what women, men and employers can do to achieve equality for this and future generations of women.

Presents model programs used to redesign jobs, create opportunities for part-time work, and keep workers age fifty and over productively on the job. Provides a career planning model for assessing the interests and skills of older employees and facilitating successful career changes.E

Oil fuels the global economy and remains a staple of our energy system. Yet, its production and use continue to draw negative criticism, and an increasing number of people want to reduce or eliminate its use altogether. Profits and Power sheds light on how the oil system works, its key players, and the political and geopolitical issues related to its use. Starting in the second half of the nineteenth century, the book traces the fascinating history of how oil production and its sale became the world's most profitable business. Tracing distinct eras in oil's past, Profits and Power shows how periods defined by shifts in price often dictated who controlled production, and who enjoyed the often enormous riches oil production generated. David A. Detomasi weaves together politics, geopolitics, and economics to provide a complete picture of how the system really works, and what direction it will take in the future. As the world becomes increasingly aware of the dangers and challenges oil dependency creates, knowledge of this crucial commodity has never been more relevant and critical for humanity's future. Profits and Power will resonate with anyone interested in, or charged with responding to, our evolving energy future.

Economic theory and empirical research confirm that the rising international integration caused an increase in aggregate income at least for the industrialized countries, although trade liberalization is no Pareto improvement. In the empirical literature, there is a consensus that the international integration implies a destruction of low-skilled job vacancies and an increase in income, while the conclusions are mixed concerning the implication for the overall unemployment rate. This book seeks to find theoretical explanations to these empirical regularities. The book poses three questions: What are the implications of trade liberalization for the labor market in the presence of trade unions if we account for both firm and worker heterogeneity? What are the implications of a redistribution policy if the government chooses unemployment benefits to partially compensate the losers of trade liberalization?, and what is the optimal redistribution scheme for trade gains if the government explicitly takes into account the consequences for the income distribution? This book presents a rigorous theoretical analysis to answer the questions posed. Beside the well-known firm-selection effect on goods markets caused by trade liberalization, a selection process on the labor market -the worker-selection effect - is presented. The book also argues that if welfare is measured in the traditional manner, i.e. income per capita, compensating the loser of trade liberalization by paying unemployment benefits decreases welfare, but the intensity of the reduction differs with respect to the chosen funding of the unemployment benefits. Another significant contribution of this book is that if the objective function of the government, i.e. the modified welfare function, includes both aggregate income and income inequality, the redistribution of trade gains can lead to an increase in welfare.

Jamee Moudud provides a new microfoundational explanation for the Harrodian long-run or warranted growth rate. The author, emphasizing the role of Keynesian uncertainty, shows that the growth model is anchored in a new interpretation of the Oxford Economists? Research Group?s microeconomic analysis and a variant of the stock-flow consistent framework. In a distinctly Kaldorian vein, Jamee Moudud discusses the relationship between capital budgeting, public investment, and taxation policy as it relates to the warranted growth rate and its impact on long-term involuntary unemployment. Combining ideas from theorists involved in the Oxford Economists? Research Group (especially Sir Roy Harrod, P.W.S. Andrews, and others), Kaldor, and Keynes, Jamee Moudud offers original insights into the impact of government spending and taxation policies on output. The book discusses and extends Harrod?s taxation-cum-public investment proposals to raise the warranted growth rate and strengthen the social safety net. Other topics explored in the text include: reasons that higher government spending/GDP shares have opposite short- and long-run effects, whether money supply can ever be different from money demand in a stock-flow consistent framework, and the effects of changes in the composition of government spending on the long-run growth path.The book provides the theoretical basis for new policy insights regarding the role of the state dealing with mass unemployment and poverty.Professional economists, graduate and advanced undergraduate students in economics, and policy researchers in international organizations will find this work a stimulating and thought-provoking addition to the field.

In Who Needs Jobs?, Lemieux explains how jobs are not the goal of economic life and how creating jobs should not be the goal of public policy. He delves into how income and prosperity are created (businesses producing what consumers demand), proposes solutions to the unemployment problem, and provides readers with the knowledge to navigate the jobs discussions of politicians and economists in America. With his approach, Lemieux takes this controversial and complex topic and makes it understandable, using economic analysis and real world examples.

Drawing on a longitudinal study of the lives of NEET young people, this book looks beyond dominant discourses on youth unemployment to provide a rich, detailed account of young people's experiences of participation and non-participation on the margins of education and employment, highlighting the policy implications of this research.

This book unites recent findings from quantitative and qualitative research from across Africa to illuminate how young men and women engage with the rural economy and imagine their futures, and how development policies and interventions can find traction with these realities. Through framing, overview and evidence-based chapters, this book provides a critical perspective on current discourse, research and development interventions around youth and rural development. Chapters are organized around commonly-made foundational claims: that large numbers of young people are leaving rural areas, have no interest in agriculture, cannot access land, can be the engine of rural transformation, are stuck in permanent waithood, and that the rural economy can provide a wealth of opportunity. This book: Engages with and challenges current research, policy and development debates. Considers social difference as a way of examining the category of youth. Is written by authors from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, providing varied perspectives. This book draws from existing literature and new analysis of several multi-country and multi-disciplinary studies, focusing on gender and other aspects of social difference. It is suitable for researchers, policy makers and advocates, as well as postgraduate students in international development and agricultural economics.

This timely collection will be the first of its kind to focus on the practical application of the government job guarantee (JG) for both developed and developing economies. Global case studies include: United States, China, Ghana, Argentina, Ireland, Iceland, and India.

Regulating the Risk of Unemployment offers a systematic comparative analysis of the recent adaptation of European unemployment protection systems to increasingly post-industrial labour markets. These systems were mainly designed and institutionalized in predominantly industrial economies, characterized by relatively standardized employment relationships and stable career patterns, as well as plentiful employment opportunities even for those with low skills. Over the past two to three decades they have faced the challenge of an accelerating shift to a primarily service-based economy, accompanied by demands for greater flexibility in wages and terms and conditions in low-skill segments of the labour market as well as pressures to maximise labour force participation given the more limited potential for productivity-led growth. The book develops an original framework for analysing adaptive reform in unemployment protection along three discrete dimensions of institutional change, which are termed benefit homogenization, risk re-categorization, and activation. This framework is then used to structure analysis of twenty years of unemployment protection reform in twelve European countries. In addition to mapping reforms along these dimensions, the country studies analyse the political and institutional factors that have shaped national patterns of adaptation. Complementary comparative analyses explore the effects of benefit reforms on the operation of the labour market, assess evolving patterns of working-age benefit dependency, and examine the changing role of active labour market policies in the regulation of the risk of unemployment.

This book addresses the links between unemployment, precariousness work and health risks from various scientific frames of reference as well as those of policy-makers. The authors range from major classics in the field to newcomers from several countries presenting their research results. The authors include also representatives of several international organizations. The anthology is of a multidisciplinary character and its articles evaluate the contributions of various projects, programmes and standard public services for persons at risk of labour market exclusion. It updates the research agenda, which is most topical during the financial crisis and economic restructuring of today.

Since 2007, many fundamental aspects of the economy and the labor market have changed dramatically. With the exception of Medicaid, subsidies flowing to the unemployed and financially distressed households in the forms of loan forgiveness and government transfers almost tripled. The generosity of mean-tested subsidies like food stamps, and employment-tested subsidies like unemployment insurance have steadily increased. Congress considered legislation that would raise marginal income tax rates, and would present Americans with new health benefits that would be phased out as a function of income. Also, a large number of homeowners owed more on their mortgages than their houses were worth, and many in both the private and public sectors renegotiated their mortgage contracts. And many others renegotiated business debts, consumer loans, student loans, and tax debts. Labor economist Casey B. Mulligan argues that because the way these trends have affected the labor market, they deepened, if not caused, the recession. He explains how progressive tax rates and binding minimum-wage laws reduce labor usage, consumption, and investment, and how they increase labor productivity. This means that while a small part of the population actually works more, overall hours worked in the whole economy are less. He explains and examines the pratical ways that for many people during a recession it costs more to earn more, and how people are working less because of it. One newly discovered aspect of the costs on earning is the large portion of the labor force renegotiating debt. Mulligan quantifies how borrowers can expect their earnings to affect the amount that lenders will forgive in debt renegotiation, and how this has acted as a massive implicit tax on earning. He also measures the changes in market tax rates that resulted directly from "social safety net" programs, and quantifies these changes' effects on the labor market and the economy. Mulligan argues that much of the decline in labor usage since 2007 was a reaction to the combination of higher marginal tax rates and a higher federal minimum wage, and that it is important to understand why labor market distortions like these suddenly increased, and to what degree those increases were caused by the various measures enacted to boost the labor market. The Redistribution Recession is a controversial, clear-cut, and thoroughly researched analysis of the effects of various government policies on the labor market during the recent recession.

Economic globalization has intensified since the 1980s and created faster channels of international interdependence and an accelerating technology race. In this new asymmetric world economy the EU is facing a dynamic and flexible US system which takes advantage of the global quest for foreign direct investment. Innovation policies in the EU - in particular in Germany - are found to be rather inadequate. There are also new theoretical challenges where a "structural macro model" and a Schumpetrian model of innovation and full employment are presented as new approaches. Besides theoretical challenges the increasing global dynamics raise new problems of international policy coordination which could lead to unsustainable economic globalization.

Since the beginning of the economic crisis of the 1980s considerable research has been dedicated to the study of the unemployment problem. Nevertheless, the phenomenon has not become fully understood, nor are its consequences adequately prevented. In this important new volume, On the Mysteries of Unemployment, economists and social scientists come together to offer the reader the latest insights on unemployment and policies regarding unemployment from the perspectives of both disciplines. On the Mysteries of Unemployment contains four main sections. Part One provides an introductory chapter and general overview. Part Two contains rich contributions that provide new insights from an economic science perspective, while Part Three offers a balanced view from social scientists. The final section is devoted to the examination of policy issues concerning unemployment. This volume, unique in its field, will be of interest to researchers, students, politicians and policy-makers.

Donald Trump's 2016 victory shocked the world, but his appeals to the economic discontent of the white working class should not be so surprising, as stagnant wages for the many have been matched with skyrocketing incomes for the few. Though Trump received high levels of support from the white working class, once in office, the newly elected billionaire president appointed a cabinet with a net worth greater than one-third of American households combined. Furthermore, he pursued traditionally conservative tax, welfare state and regulatory policies, which are likely to make inequality worse. Nevertheless, income inequality has grown over the last few decades almost regardless of who is elected to the presidency and congress. There is a growing consensus among scholars that one of the biggest drivers of income inequality in the United States is government activity (or inactivity). Just as the New Deal and Great Society programs played a key role in leveling income distribution from the 1930s through the 1970s, federal policy since then has contributed to expanding inequality. Growing inequality bolsters the resources of the wealthy to influence policy, and it contributes to partisan polarization. Both prevent the passage of policy to address inequality, creating a continuous feedback loop of growing inequality. The authors of this book argue that it is therefore misguided to look to the federal government, as citizens have tended to do since the New Deal, to lead on economic policy to "fix" inequality. At the same time, they demonstrate that the states are already vigorously confronting this problem. In fact, as they show, periods of rapid economic change post New Deal have consistently resulted from state action, while the federal government has been stymied by the federal institutional design created through the Constitution. Even the New Deal, in many ways the model of federal policy activism, was largely borrowed from policies created in the state "laboratories of democracy" in the preceding years and decades. William Franko and Christopher Witko argue that the states that will address inequality are not necessarily those with the greatest objective inequality, but those where citizens are aware of growing inequality, where left-leaning politicians hold power, where unions are strong, and where the presence of direct democracy initiatives have influenced majoritarian political institutions. In the empirical chapters Franko and Witko examine how these factors have shaped policies that boosted incomes at the bottom (the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit) and reduce incomes at the top (with top marginal tax rates) between 1987 and 2010. The authors argue that, if history is a guide, increasingly egalitarian policies at the state level will spread to other states and, eventually, to the federal level, setting the stage for a more equitable future.

What is it like to do the back-breaking work of immigrants? To find out, Gabriel Thompson spent a year working alongside Latino immigrants, who initially thought he was either crazy or an undercover immigration agent. He stooped over lettuce fields in Arizona, and worked the graveyard shift at a chicken slaughterhouse in rural Alabama. He dodged taxis--not always successfully--as a bicycle delivery "boy" for an upscale Manhattan restaurant, and was fired from a flower shop by a boss who, he quickly realized, was nuts.

As one coworker explained, "These jobs make you old quick." Back spasms occasionally keep Thompson in bed, where he suffers recurring nightmares involving iceberg lettuce and chicken carcasses. Combining personal narrative with investigative reporting, Thompson shines a bright light on the underside of the American economy, exposing harsh working conditions, union busting, and lax government enforcement--while telling the stories of workers, undocumented immigrants, and desperate US citizens alike, forced to live with chronic pain in the pursuit of $8 an hour.