Economic research paper on attempts to alleviate inflation through incomes policies from the 1950s to the 1971 wages-price freeze in the USA - reviews the origin, development and abandonment of wage guideposts (wage policy), examines efforts to induce appropriate price and wage behaviour in industry, particularly the iron and steel industry, etc. References.

This book, originally published in 1981, is a major reassessment of the strengths and weaknesses of incomes policies. A distinguished group of economists comprehensively review the rationale and history of the field, giving special attention to the role fo the public sector, the question of low pay and the differing approaches to incomes policies which have been adopted in Europe and North America.