Higher standards of schooling and of vocational training are now widely recognized as essential in Britain if benefits are to be gained from advanced technology, and if unemployment rates are to be reduced. The continuing development of automated production methods, combined with increasing competition from low-wage developing economies, is likely to reduce even further the scope for the employment of low skilled and inexperienced personnel in advanced economies. This book provides a realistic analysis of what needs to be done, based on visits over the past ten years by expert teams to...

How much of growth output can be accounted for by growth of inputs and how much is due to growth of productivity? This book is the most detailed attempt yet made to answer this question for Britain. Contrary to the impression left by some previous authors, productivity growth is found to play a relatively minor role: growth of inputs accounts for most of the growth of output. The wealth of data presented is also used to shed light on the "New Growth Theory," which claims that externalities and increasing returns are the engine of economic growth. This book finds that the evidence does not...