Flaws in case for pay by region

Oswald resists the conclusions of his own argument because it leads to the need for a clear distinction between pay and allowances rather than their conflation. In short, if we want the same job done in different micro-economies the government must add a special allowance to account for different living costs.

To destroy that vital difference between pay and cost-of-living allowances is to pretend that the quality of Oswald's article depends on whether it was written in Swansea or London. It would also lead to academic ghettos as foolish people refuse to move on the basis of perceived poor pay in the regions.

Andrew J. Morgan University of Wales, Swansea