Employment in Developing Nations. By Edgar O. Edwards (ed.). New York and” London: Columbia University Press, 1974. x+418 pp.(Report on Ford Foundation Study)

In recognition of the gravity of the unemployment situation in the-Third World the Ford Foundation sponsored three international seminars to-identify the major issues of the problem. The focus of these seminars was on inter-relationship between employment and development strategy, technological change, rural development and political constraints on choice. Some of the papers presented in these seminars are collected in the book under review. Edgar O. Edwards did a commendable job of writing a summary of the papers, which he has presented in the first paper of the book. The competing demands of brevity and full coverage restricted the summary to an identification of principal issues and major recommendations for policy makers and donor agencies. The first paper is followed by Part I of the book consisting of three subject papers on: (1) Economic Development and Labour Use, (2) Technology and Employment in LDCs and (3) Economics, Institutions and Employment Generation in Rural Areas. A selection of seven papers on Generic Issues is presented in Part II of the book. Part III consists of five papers on some sectoral considerations. The last four papers, constituting Part IV of the book, describe the experiences of different countries in employment promotion and economic development.