Sean Glynn

War and social change : British society in the Second World War

The contributors to this volume look at the effects of World War II on British society, on employment policy, planning, health care, education, demography, and on groups such as women, businessmen, the Labour Party and the working class. In contrast to the view of many historians, they suggest that surprisingly little wartime change was lasting. A significant degree of unity prevailed, given the opportunity for extensive alterations in society, and much of the change which did last beyond the conflict arose out of the pre-war rather than the wartime period. Social historians and those concerned with the development of social policy, students and teachers of womens studies, economic history, sociology and business history, as well as general readers, may find this volume of interest.

Unemployment in the Interwar Period: A Multiple Problem

The principal aim of this paper is to emphasise the need for historians to re-examine the specific nature and causes of interwar unemployment. For a variety of reasons we can no longer continue to accept the assumption that Keynes and Beveridge had the final say on the subject, and it is necessary to face up to the fact that unemployment is virtually impossible to define in realistic statistical terms. Above all it is important to realise the serious limitations of National Insurance data which

Australia in the International Economy in the Twentieth Century.

Ever since 1788, Australias economic well being has, for good or ill, been affected by the international economy. The authors trace that relationship from the late nineteenth-century onwards. The book is arranged in four chronological sections: pre-First World War, the inter-war period, from the Second World War to 1959 and Australia since 1960. The opening chapter in each section discusses the international economy during the period, the second and third chapters look at the impact of the international economy on the Australian economy. Each section gives a clear account of the political and commercial influences which underlie economic developments. This book fills the need for an introductory text in this area for undergraduate students of economics, politics and history since the text does not assume any previous knowledge of Australian economy or history. It is also useful for the general reader who wishes to understand the international framework within which the Australian economy operates.

Interwar Unemployment: Restatement and Comments

original paper was to emphasize the need for historians to reexamine the specific nature and causes of interwar unemployment. We also set out to confront historians with the problems of defining and measuring unemployment. In particular, we emphasized that the data arising from National Insurance returns should be handled with caution and understanding. We did not set out to analyse the prospects and possibilities for a ’Keynesian Solution’ (this has been attempted elsewhere: Glynn and Howells, ’Unemployment in the 1930s: the &dquo;Keynesian Solution&dquo; Reconsidered’, Australian Economic History Review, March 1980). It