This volume contains the proceedings of a conference on ‘Mismatch and Labour Mobility’, held in Venice on 4–6 January 1990, sponsored jointly by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Centre for Labour Economics (now incorporated into the Centre for Economic Performance) at the London School of Economics, and the Centro Interuniversitario di Studi Teorici per la Politica Economica (STEP). Financial support for the conference was provided by Directorate General V (Employment, Social Affairs and Education) of the Commission of the European Communities, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States contributed to the travel costs entailed. Financial support for the production of the present volume was provided by the UK Department of Employment.

I am very grateful to Gianni Toniolo for co-organising the Conference and to the Economics Department of the University of Venice for their efficiency and warm hospitality during the Conference proceedings.

I thank Richard Portes, Stephen Yeo and Ann Shearlock for encouraging and enabling us to organise the Conference. Particular thanks go to Sarah Wellburn, CEPR Publications Officer, and to Barbara Docherty, Production Editor, for their outstanding professionalism.

I hope this book will acquaint the reader with the current state of debate on mismatch and connected labour-market problems: not all questions will find a ready-for-use answer, but we hope to have stimulated fresh debate, while providing some answers to the problems considered.