This paper examines a neglected aspect of the debate about skill in contemporary economic sociology. It focuses on the processes of socialization whereby skilled workers acquire their social identities. It is suggested that apprenticeship relations between older and younger workers are of prime...

This article considers some of the possible ways in which technological Innovation may facilitate or endanger economic progress in the future. It does so within the general framework of the Kondratieff cycles. Explanations of these phenomena are considered under three categories—economic,...

The solution to unemployment is often seen as lying in renewed economic growth leading to industrial expansion. The Index of Production (IOP) gives a measure of total industrial output for which the associated number of employees is also available. Productivity may then be defined as production...

Presently the work of Hayek is used by neo-conservatives to justify laissez-faire economics, yet it has become questionable whether his theory of social order actually supports this viewpoint. As a result of examining his social ontology, it is concluded that Hayek has not adequately shown how...

Economists have generally ignored the family in micro-economic theory by treating households as one person. Becker’s allocation of time theory has spawned a number of labour supply studies which claim to take account of the family. It is argued in this paper that the labour supply...

Domestic energy consumption represents a sizable proportion of total energy delivered in the U.K. The major source of variance between households lies in the behaviour of the occupants rather than the physical parameters of the buildings. The behaviour of the consumer, and particularly its...