British Unemployment 1919-1939: A Study in Public Policy

Despite the dominance of unemployment in the historiography of interwar Britain, there is as yet no comprehensive single volume study of government reactions to the problem over the entire period down to 1939. British Unemployment 1919-1939 aims to fill that gap. W.R. Garside draws upon an extensive range of primary and secondary sources to analyze official ameliorative policy toward unemployment and contemporary reactions to such intervention. He assesses the nature and scale of interwar unemployment assistance. Careful study is also made of the impact of unemployment on related areas of economic concerns such as monetary and fiscal policy, industrial change, overseas trade, colonial development, labor supply and the impact of collective bargaining. Comprehensive, informative and clearly written, this book is the fullest account of policy responses to unemployment in the interwar period. It will be invaluable to specialists in recent British economic history and public policy, as well as an essential reference work for students coming to the subject for the first time.