In this paper William Mitchell, Martin Watts and John Burgess argue that governments that have followed the ideas embodied in the OECD approach to economic reform have successfully reduced inflation but worsened the economic outcomes for a vast number of disadvantaged workers.

They argue that economic growth no longer provides the upgrading benefits that Okun and others discovered in the 1960s and 1970s in the USA. Further, they argue that the private sector is unable to provide enough secure, full-time jobs to absorb all those in the labour force that seek such opportunities. There is a strong case for active government involvement on the demand side of the labour market, as well as some re-regulation of the labour market to maintain wages and conditions. The authors translate the first part of this argument into a proposal for full employment and price stability, which they call the Job Guarantee.