Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market - Tapa blanda

`convincingly refutes the idea that countries have no choice but to live with high unemployment.'The Economist

`an important book ... which synthesises mainstream economic views on the subject.'Christopher Huhne, The Independent on Sunday

`The Bible of anyone this year concerned with the causes of unemployment and what we can do about it is a book published recently in London. It should be the starting point for any sensible discussion on the subject from now on.'Padraic P. McGuinness, The Australian

`very valuable' Paul Ryan, University of Cambridge

`The authors are experts in this field, and the book will be a major reference work for scholars and students. Highly recommended for graduate and upper-division undergraduate collections.' Social and Behavioral Sciences

`Taken simply as a review of the literature, the book is a monumental achievement: there are some 480 references listed. But it is much more than that. Theoretical models are set up, one by one, for the many individual relationships that bear, directly or indirectly, on unemployment, and these models are then subject to statistical analysis ... There is no question that this book is essential reading for economists concerned with unemployment, but it should also be studied by everyone in industry concerned with wage bargaining, whether employer or trade unionist.' British Journal of Industrial Relations

'impressive and salutary book ... they sustain an explanatory commentary in plain English ... so that careful readers should be able to follow the reasoning and assess the empirical evidence'P.A. McGavin, University of New South Wales, Policy, Summer 1992/93

'The leading international text on this subject is Unemployment by Richard Layard, Stephen Nickell and Richard Jackman.'Geoffrey Lehmann, The Australian

This book is concerned with why unemployment is so high and why it fluctuates so wildly. It shows how unemployment affects inflation, and discusses whether full employment can ever be combined with price stability. It asks why some groups have higher unemployment rates than others.

The book thus surveys in a clear, textbook fashion the main aspects of the unemployment problem. It integrates macroeconomics with a detailed micro-analysis of the labour market. it uses the authors' model to explain the puzzling post-war history of OECD unemployment and shows how unemployment and inflation are affected by systems of wage bargaining and unemployment insurance. For each issue it develops new relevant theory, followed by extensive empirical analysis.

The authors are established experts in this field, and this book gives their definitive treatment. It is based largely on new research, but also incorporates the best of existing knowledge. The long `overview' chapter is accessible to any non-specialist with an elementary knowledge of economics. The rest of the book provides key elements for courses in macroeconomics and labour economics at advanced undergraduate and graduate levels, and will serve as a major source of reference for both scholars and students.

The basic aim of the book, however, is to provide the basis for better policy. As the book shows, by learning from theory and experience, we can avoid the waste and misery of high unemployment.