Kitson Michael - The political economy of competitiveness: essays on employment, public policy and corporate performance

Anyone seeking a clear and stimulating account of a range of major economic issues will find this book an invaluable help.

Malcolm Sawyer, Professor of Economics, University of Leeds

If you think economics is all about complex algebra, this book is not for you. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a clear explanation of what is going wrong in the economy and how to put it right, I could hardly recommend it more highly.

Larry Elliott, Economics Editor, Guardian

This book brings theory and evidence to bear on key policy issues. An important and accessible contribution, it will be useful to students and all those interested in economic policy.

Mario Pianta, Professor of Economic Policy, University of Urhino, Italy

If you are interested in contemporary economic policy issues, this is a book you should read particularly if you are searching for alternatives to current orthodoxies.

Roger Berry MP, Chair, Full Employment Forum

This collection covers important issues and represents a serious and yet accessible economic analysis of real world problems.

Paul Hirst, Professor of Politics and Sociology, University of London

At last, the political economy of trade is a front-and-center worldwide concern, not just a matter for international bureaucrats, corporate lawyers, and academics. Kitson and Michie are outstanding progressive thinkers in this area. This new book is an important and timely contribution.

Robert Pollin, Professor of Economics and Co-Director, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Edited by Jonathan Michie
Birkbeck College, University of London, UK

This series presents a fresh, broad perspective on the key issues in the modern world economy, drawing in perspectives from management and business, politics and sociology, economic history and law.

Written in a lively and accessible style, it will present focused and comprehensive introductions to key topics, demonstrating the relevance of political economy to the major debates in economics and to an understanding of the contemporary world.

Reconstructing Political Economy
The great divide in economic thought
William K. Tabb

The Political Economy of Competitiveness
Essays on employment, public policy and corporate performance
Michael Kits on and Jonathan Michie

Global Economy, Global Justice
Theoretical and policy alternatives to neoliberalism
George De Martino

Global Instability
The political economy of world economic governance
Edited by Jonathan Michie and John Grieve Smith

We are grateful to a large number of colleagues and friends for their comments on and suggestions for the contents of this book, as well as for more general support and collaboration over the past few years. From Cambridge we are particularly indebted to our colleague Jane Humphries, with whom we both worked, at different times, at Newnham College. We would also like to acknowledge our productive collaboration with various colleagues on the Editorial Board of the Cambridge Journal of Economics . We enjoyed particular support in various projects from Geoff Harcourt and Frank Wilkinson.

On the individual chapters, we would like to thank Daniele Archibugi and Roger Berry for collaborative work and helpful comments on Frank Wilkinson; we are also grateful for comments from Keith Cowling and Lawrence Harris.

A number of the chapters originated from the annual conferences organised at Robinson College by John Grieve Smith and Jonathan Michie, and we are therefore particularly grateful to John Grieve Smith, as well as to Robinson College.

We are grateful to Alison Kirk, Rob Langham, Andreja Zivkovic, Emma Davis, Lesley Felce and Goober Fox of Routledge for encouraging this project and for their speedy and efficient handling of the manuscript, and likewise to the copy-editor, Michael Doughty.

Finally, our greatest debt and gratitude is to our wives, Jane and Carolyn, to whom this book is dedicated, and our children Beth and Harry, and Alex and Duncan.

Allin, P. (1993), One hundred years of labour market indicators, Employment Gazette, December, Employment Department, pp. 553560.

Anderman, S. (1997), Commercial cooperation, international competitiveness, and EC competition policy, in S. Deakin and J. Michie (eds), Contracts, Cooperation, and Competition: Studies in Economics, Management, and haw, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Anderson, K. and Norheim, H. (1993), History, geography and regional economic integration, in K. Anderson and R. Blackhurst, Regional Integration and the Global Trading System, Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

Archibugi, D. and Michie, J. (1995a), Technology and innovation: an introduction, Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 19, no. 1, February 1995, pp. 14.

Archibugi, D. and Michie, J. (1995b), The globalisation of technology: a new taxonomy, Cambridge Journal of Economics , vol. 19, no. 1, February 1995, pp. 121140, reprinted in D. Archibugi and J. Michie (eds), Technology, Globalisation and Economic Performance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 172197.

Archibugi, D. and Michie, J. (1997a), Technological globalisation and national systems of innovation, Chapter 1 of D. Archibugi and J. Michie (eds), Technology, Globalisation and Economic Performance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Archibugi, D. and Michie, J. (eds) (1997b), Technology, Globalisation and Economic Performance , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Archibugi, D. and Michie, J. (eds) (1998), Trade, Growth and Technical Change, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.