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.

A compilation of papers given at a Conference of the International Economic Association analyze the world-wide experiences of incomes policy when, in the 1970s and early 1980s, this was seen as a crucial target for government.

This book looks at how developing countries have had increasing difficulties, especially since the 1970s, in coping with inflation, in balancing efficiency and equity in wage policies, and in achieving economic growth and income distribution through appropriate taxation and expenditure programmes.

Written by Anne Romanis Braun, a former staff member of the IMF's Research Department, this volume deals with the nature of wage determination and the problem of securing an economically appropriate development of money incomes in an open economy over the medium term.