Since 1945 preventing runaway wage inflation has been regarded as a key policy in managing an economy in a successful way. The exact nature of pay control has varied from country to country and from time to time. This book, originally published in 1987, examines pay control policies in major Western economies. It surveys developments from 1945 and explores the aims of pay policies and discusses the problems of implementation, comparing the different kinds of policies. By comparing the performance of these different approaches the book assesses the merits and pitfalls of the different approaches.

Comparison of price and wage policies to combat inflation in the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Federal Republic and Italy - examines long term and short term effectiveness of such policies, trade union reactions, wages trends, income distribution, unemployment, etc. References.

National Wages Policy in War and Peace (1958) examines the thorny issue of inflation prevention, looking at a host of Western economies in the wartime and postwar period. It looks at the experience of national wage policies under a variety of different economic and social conditions, and concludes that a centrally administered national wages policy cannot be relied upon as a means of preventing inflation. It indicates that this may be achieved with the minimum interference with free collective bargaining if all parties, Government, trade unions and employers exercise their power with responsibility.