This volume investigates the structural shifts and determinants of wage patterns in the United Kingdom between 1970 and 1982 using the New Earnings Survey. Mary B. Gregory utilizes this extensive government dataset to provide a rigorous analysis of how various economic and institutional factors influenced pay dispersion and wage growth during a period of significant industrial change. The work serves as a systematic examination of the mechanisms behind wage determination, offering a framework for understanding the interplay between collective bargaining, skill differentials, and incentive structures.

Experts identify this work as a foundational reference for labor economists and historians interested in the quantitative assessment of British wage policy. Readers frequently note the technical density of the prose, which is tailored specifically for those engaged in formal wage determination research.