The growth in part-time employment has been one of the most striking features in industrialized economies over the past forty years. This book discusses the controversial debates surrounding the subject; is part-time work better than unemployment or is social welfare a disincentive to taking up part-time work? Is this kind of work becoming an increasingly normal part of most people's working lives, or does it remain a female ghetto of low pay, low pensions and low labour standards? The book presents for the first time a systematically comparative analysis of the common and divergent patterns in the use of part-time work in Europe, America and the Pacific Rim. It brings together sociologists and economists in this wide-ranging and comprehensive survey, tackling such areas as gender issues, ethnic questions and the differences between certain national economies. Sara Arber, University of Surrey, Janeen Baxter, The Australian National University, Angela Dale, University of Manchester, Clare Holdsworth, University of Manchester, L