Can Fiscal Expansion Cut Unemployment?

Abstract

In both 1977 and 1978, on average over the year, using a standardised international definition, the rate of unemployment in Britain about 6 per cent. This was about 1 per cent higher than the rate recorded for the average of all countries in OECD. Since then the rate of unemployment has risen in most countries, but by more in Britain than elsewhere. Our rate has gone up from 6 per cent to 13 per cent, while the OECD average has gone up from 5 per cent to about 8 per cent.