The basic thesis of this paper is that a necessary condition for the re-establishment of full employment without a runaway inflation is a change of attitudes and institutions concerning wage-fixing which puts more emphasis on the effects of rates of pay on the expansion of employment opportunities and much less emphasis on their effects on the real incomes of those already in employment. A necessary condition for such changes would be to develop further fiscal and social welfare measures to promote an acceptable distribution of income. Unfortunately it is possible that two very desirable developments — namely, labour participation in decision-making in industry and the introduction of new technologies — may make this particular wage-fixing problem more, rather than less, acute. The reforms discussed to meet this problem cover: the use of Keynesian demand-management policies to keep the money national income on a steady but moderate growth path; measures to restrain the setting of monopolistic practices by trade unions; a system of national arbitration and a possible inflation tax to curb excessive wage increases; an integrated reconstruction of social benefits and direct taxation; the substitution of expenditure instead of income as the basis of a progressive direct tax; the possible introduction of an annual wealth tax; and the reform of capital transfer tax to fall progressively on the beneficiaries of gifts and bequests.

Five principles determining movement in the housing market relating to tenure, social class and fertility status were suggested by Payne and Payne (1977) on the basis of a small-scale study in Aberdeen. Analysis of a large-scale nationally-representative survey containing full housing and maternity histories suggests that some of these principles require modification at the national level. For example, movement into and between tenures, although heavily influenced by demographic and socio-economic factors, is not as rigid as the Aberdeen study suggested. The interaction of social class, age at marriage and childbearing patterns is assessed. Finally, changes over time in these relationships and the long-term effects on final family size and tenure are discussed.

Comparative studies of the origins of statutory welfare services have focused largely on the role of intra-societal factors in the genesis of welfare in the industrial countries. Developments in the developing countries, which comprise the majority of the world's nations, have not been adequately researched nor has the role of diffusion in transmitting social policies and practices been properly assessed. A review of the growth of modern social welfare services in the developing countries suggests that the diffusion of ideas and practices has been particularly important in the creation of their social services. This finding illustrates the need for a more broadly-based enquiry which pays greater attention to the role of diffusion in the development of statutory welfare.

There has been growing academic and practitioner interest in the problems of and opportunities for joint working in the care of mentally handicapped people. The paper outlines alternative methods of such joint working and tests these against survey and case study evidence. Attention is drawn to the danger that joint working may have little impact at patient level and the paper recommends an emphasis on the appointment of frontline key workers.