Diamond and Koszegi [Diamond, P. and Koszegi, B. (2003), "Quasi-Hyperbolic Preferences and Retirement," Journal of Public Economics, 87: 1839-1972] have argued that quasi-hyperbolic discounting can cause dynamic inconsistency in planning when to retire as well as in consumption plans. This...

The behavioral economics literature on time discounting has suggested that individuals may systematically undersave when planning for retirement. Hence, pension systems have developed to enable, or indeed force, individuals to save more for retirement. Of course, the saving aspect and the timing...

There is an enduring belief by UK policymakers that a large higher education sector is an important driver of long-run economic growth, which has been part of the narrative since the Robbins Report. Back then, there was plenty of conjecture and assumption, but strikingly little concrete evidence...

Despite the interest over recent years in the fragmentation of organizations and the development of contracting, little attention has been paid to the impact of the associated inter-organizational relationships on the internal organization of employment. Inter-organizational relations have been...

Learning at, and through, work is a key part of the skills literature. However, the idea and ideal of the ‘community of practice’ assumes that workplaces are coherent communities where the skilful are available for novices to consult and observe. This is not always the case. This research...

This article evaluates the British system of NVQs, focusing on their capacity to increase skill levels. It reviews the way NVQs were designed and argues that they are ill-equipped to encourage knowledge and skills, partly because they simply replicate the weaknesses which currently exist in the...

In this introductory article, the editors of Work, Employment and Society reflect on the journal’s body of published work and present the main contributions of the 25-year anniversary issue. As a journal of record WES is now well established and offers extensive conceptual insights into,...