Richard Layard is one of Britain's foremost applied economists, whose
work has had a profound impact on the policy debate in Britain and
abroad. This book contains his most influential articles on the subject
of unemployment. It is published along with a companion volume
Inequality, which deals with these topics and with economic transition.
Unemployment explains what causes unemployment and proposes remedies to
reduce it. There is a strong focus on how unemployed people are treated
and how this affects unemployment - including Layard's well-known
recommendation of a job-guarantee for long term unemployed people. Other
key topics covered are the effect of unions and wage bargaining, the
effect of low skill, and the possible role of rigid employment laws. The
book opens with Richard Layard's personal credo Why I became an
Economist .