Unemployed Workers Receive Too High Unemployment Benefits - Essay Example

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE Building a modern welfare is key to building a fairer and more inclusive society where no-one is held back bydisadvantage or lack of opportunity, also ensuring that the unemployed are given the support and skills they need to move back into work as quickly as possible.17 The system of Unemployment Insurance is founded on tolerance, which is one of the greatest virtues a country can have. This tolerance is built on respect for all people – whatever their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.1 No, I do not agree with the statement that people receiving Unemployment Insurance Benefits will not search hard enough for jobs. The main reasons for this are the psychology of the individual and his or her responsible interaction with society, and secondly, the nature of the country’s economy, employment, unemployment, and the various factors that influence them. I would like to present my argument in 5 parts: Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance or Benefits, Empirical evidence of related issues, Reasons why an unemployed person will prefer to work rather than continue to subsist on Unemployment Insurance, and finally, Recommendations for a better system. Part 1 - UNEMPLOYMENT: Current fashion in the academic as well as popular literature tends to minimise the importance of Unemployment as a measure of weakness in the economy or misery for the unemployed people.4 People are classified as being unemployed if they satisfy the International Labour Office (ILO) definition, i.e., they were: without a job at the time the survey was conducted; were actively available to start work within the next two weeks; 17- http://www.labour.org.uk/welfarereform04/ 01- http://www.scottishtories.org.uk/manifesto/a-stronger-society.html 04- “Economics of Unemployment: A comparative Analysis of Britain and the United States” by Hughes, James J. had looked for work in the last four weeks; had found a job and were waiting to start.14 Unemployment involves serious problems for the individual and for society as a whole, because in most societies people can earn a living only by working for others. For the individual who suffers this state of Unemployment, it means loss of income. Prolonged Unemployment may result in a loss of self-respect. For society, Unemployment can lead to lost production, and in many cases, to criminal or other antisocial behavior.19 Unemployment may be caused by a skills gap, or an associated lack of training; it may be caused by wages being forced too high, therefore increasing firms’ cost; and, the most widespread reason, due to factors on the demand-side or the supply-side of the economy. The main demand-side factor is that, due to insufficient demand for their products, firms will lay off staff. The main supply-side factor is “geographical immobility” where there may be a shortage of skilled people in one part of the country and a surplus in another, and in this situation people are unable or unwilling to move.12 There are two main measures of Unemployment: Claimant Count - which counts the number of people unemployed and claiming benefits on a certain day each month; and, Labour Force Survey – wherein the count is based on a survey of the workforce, and estimates are developed from data on the number of people who are seeking jobs through the public employment offices or the number receiving Unemployment Insurance payments.12 In the U.K, the Claimant Count system is used. Data are collected every month on claimants’ postcode, sex, date of birth, age, occupation and the start and end date of their claim. More detailed information relating to the age of clerically processed 14- http://www.local.dtlr.gov.uk/datacata/employ.htm#unemploy 19- The World Book Encyclopedia (International),Volumes 19, and 20 12- http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/bank/business/external/indicators/theories1.htm claimants, and the duration of their claim, are collected quarterly. These details provide information on the number of people who have started a new claim during the month (in-flows) and the number of people who have terminated their claim during the month (out-flows). Results are published monthly or quarterly about five weeks after the references date. Unemployment rates express the number of claimants as a percentage of the estimated workforce (a measure often called the base rate denominator). Rates allow comparisons to be made between areas with significantly different positions.14 While it might be true that for both individuals and the economy at large the significance of Unemployment has changed through time, this does not imply that Unemployment is costless or that increases in it are not cause for concern. Despite all the mitigating factors embedded in measurement and supported by modern theory, Unemployment remains perhaps the most chronic economic problem facing the industrial economies of the world, particularly the U.K.4 Part 2 – UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (UI): Unemployment Insurance (UI) also known as Unemployment Benefit, is a means of providing security and income support for able bodied people who are temporarily out of work through no fault of their own, and looking for employment.19 UI is seen as a tool that softens the blow of lost earnings.4 In addition to helping the people and their families, UI programmes play a key role in helping businesses, communities and the nation’s economy. The programme helps cushion the impact of economic downturns and brings stability to communities, states, and the nation by providing temporary income support 14- http://www.local.dtlr.gov.uk/datacata/employ.htm#unemploy 04- “Economics of Unemployment: A comparative Analysis of Britain and the United States” by Hughes, James J. 19- The World Book Encyclopedia (International),Volumes 19, and 20 for laid off people. Its primary objective is the provision of insurance to labour market participants for the temporary loss of income due to Unemployment.19 In the U.K, the first UI system was set up in 1911, under which various types of allowances, commonly referred to as “dole”, were paid to unemployed people. In 1941 a proposal called the “Beveridge Plan” recommended a policy of “full employment”. This meant jobs are available for anyone who wants to work; when business and industry cannot generate sufficient jobs, the government must intervene and create jobs.19 Under this policy of “full employment”, (a catch-phrase for the politically and socially acceptable rate of Unemployment), most Unemployment was short-term and UI benefits were expected to cover people just for the few weeks while they were between jobs. With the relatively small numbers of unemployed persons, the costs of paying UI benefits were limited and could easily be paid out of transfers from the working class as a whole through National Insurance contributions or general taxation.3 The Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) system of UI was introduced in the U.K from October 1996. It is also known as “the dole”. To qualify for JSA payment, a person must be capable of working, available for work, actively seeking work, be aged 18 or over and not working 16 hours a week or more. There are two types of JSA: income based, where one claims separate allowance for oneself, any adult dependant and one’s children; and contribution based, where one can claim only for oneself.6 Payment is made every fortnight by girocheque or automated credit transfer.18 At present, under the leadership of Tony Blair’s New Labour Party (which was 19- The World Book Encyclopedia (International),Volumes 19, and 20 03- http://www.geocities.com/aufheben2/dole/html 18- http://www.welfarerights.net/guides/jobseekers.html elected into power in May 1997), “neo-liberalism” has been given a fresh impetus, recognising that it is no longer sufficient merely to impose the discipline of money. They began the “Welfare to Work” program, better known as the “New Deal”, a crusade to re-impose the work ethic, directing an attack on the condition of the unemployed. Work is recognised as the solution to almost all social evils, providing not just a healthy, competitive economy, but ‘independence’ and ‘self-respect’ for those otherwise deprived of the experience of work.3 The “New Deal”, with its slogan “Extending Employment To All”, helps people move from welfare to work by ensuring they are financial secure during this transition. It has been particularly successful in helping lone parents into work.17 There is evidence that it is in the best interests of children of a lone parent for that parent to be working when the child is of secondary school age. It increases the chances that the child will get good qualifications and go successfully to hold down a job.1 Part 3 – EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE Unemployment in the U.K is one of the European success stories because Britain has always been a liberal economy when compared with continental Europe. In Britain, Unemployment fell from high European-style levels to low U.S levels mainly due to reforms in the UI system.16 Still, Unemployment remained quite high – around 2 million even in the official figures – throughout the 1980s.3 In the year 1993, Unemployment in the U.K labour force was 10.3 per cent but it then dropped to 5.1 per cent in 2002. Both sexes participated in the employment gain. The percentage of working age U.K population employed in 1993 was 70.4 per cent and this figure rose to 74.7 per cent in 03- http://www.geocities.com/aufheben2/dole/html 17- http://www.labour.org.uk/welfarereform04/ 01- http://www.scottishtories.org.uk/manifesto/a-stronger-society.html 16- http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0600.pdf 2001. Part-time jobs are an important element in the female labour market, accounting for about 45 per cent of total employment in 2003. There have been three periods of cyclical GDP growth in the U.K since the mid 1970s, roughly in 1976-79, 1982-89 and 1993-2001; in each period Unemployment fell; in the first period employment did not rise, but in the other two it rose very rapidly.16 From 1997 to March 2005 the “New Deal” has helped over 296,000 lone parents into work; the lone parent employment rate has increased by 9 per cent and stood well above 50 per cent for the first time ever.17 Estimated annual losses due to fraud in Income Support and JSA in 1997-98 were: Income support and income based JSA £1,530 million; Child benefit £184.1 million; Contribution based JSA £46.9 million; and Instrument of payment fraud £119 million.5 This high fraud rate was however cut considerably; from 1997 to March 2005, fraud in Income Support and JSA recorded a cut by 39 per cent.17 According to the latest figures released by the Labour Force Survey (LFS), in November 2005 claimant count of people seeking JSA was 902,000, recording an increase of 88,200 during the year.15 Employment rate for people of working age was 74.7 per cent for the three months ending October 2005, down from 74.8 per cent the previous quarter. Total hours worked each week increased by 1.2 million over the quarter, and by 11.4 million over the year, to reach 923.4 million.8 4,759,000 employees worked an average of 7 hours 24 minutes a week in unpaid overtime in 2005.15 The inactivity rate for people of working age was 21.3 per cent for the three months ending in 17- http://www.labour.org.uk/welfarereform04/ 05- http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmpubacc/ 103/10304.htm 15- http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/ 08- http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=12 October 2005, down from 21.4 per cent the previous quarter. The number of economically inactive people of working age fell by 22,000, to reach 7.90 million. The average number of job vacancies for the three months to November 2005 was 600,200. This was down 25,200 on the previous quarter, and down 41,500 over the year. The redundancy rate for the three months to October 2005 was 5.7 per 1,000 employees, down slightly in the previous quarter. In December 2005 the Unemployment rate by ILO definition was 4.9%, down 0.1 percentage points over the year, and there were 28.8 million working people.7 The success of the UI system is best stated by Margaret Hodge, Minister for Employment & Welfare Reform, when she recently commented: “The rise in employment reflects people who had not previously looked for a job, moving back to work. Over the last year the number of people classed as economically inactive has continued to fall – down 150 thousand, excluding those in education. Greater numbers are moving from inactive benefits into work. For the first time in decades the numbers claiming incapacity benefits is falling.”15 Part 4 – REASONS TO PREFER WORK AGAINST RECEIVING UI: The majority of people, who find themselves unemployed and receiving UI, have a preference for gainful employment. This is due to various reasons outlined below. 4.1: Self-Respect Self-respect is defined by Webster as “an appropriate respect for oneself: a confidence in one’s own worth as a human being and a concern to maintain it.” Self- 07- http://incomesdata.co.uk/statistics/statempl.htm 15- http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/ respect thus implies self-confidence, self-affirmation, self-caring. It is a quality that must be actively nurtured throughout one’s life.11 Because of its human costs in deprivation and a feeling of rejection and personal failure, the extent of Unemployment is widely used as a measure of workers’ welfare. A strong society rests on responsible, self-respecting individuals and families. They need to be able to turn to straightforward, reliable help when times are bad. But that should not become dependence on the State.1 UI was never intended to support those who, though quite able and capable of finding work, opt not to find it.19 They should do their best to reverse the trend as soon as possible and get back to fruitful employment, thus taking back responsibility for themselves and their families.1 As adults, it becomes their task and responsibility. Another person can respect us, but no other person can bestow self-respect upon us. Likewise, another person may lose respect for us, but no-one can rob us of our self-respect.11 The very nature and meaning of self-respect and how it is constituted and secured are subject to social construction, and the evaluation of such constructions involves issues of social justice. Issues of self-respect are at the core of social justice. It involves the conviction that as a person, one is deserving both of just treatment in social contexts and of whatever civil and institutional rights, privileges, opportunities and protections are accorded other citizens in virtue of their being persons.2 It is this recognition respect for oneself as an equal person which makes people wish to receive UI for as minimum a time as possible, preferring instead to find fruitful 11- http://www.sps.ucla.edu/brochures/respectingoneself/respectingoneself.html 01- http://www.scottishtories.org.uk/manifesto/a-stronger-society.html 19- The World Book Encyclopedia (International),Volumes 19, and 20 02- “Dignity, Character and Self-Respect”, Edited by Robin S. Dillon employment, thus standing on their own two feet with heads held high, and gaining the respect of their families, the society in which they live, and most of all, reinforcing their belief in themselves. 4.2: Jobseeker’s Allowance is not sufficient The Jobseeker’s Allowance that people get is not enough to enable them to live a comfortable life. With living costs increasing day by day, people are facing an uphill task in making both ends meet, and this is all the more problematic where a person surviving on UI has a family to support. This is a very important factor that makes people want to find employment as quickly as possible, in order to earn reasonably good salaries that will enable them and their families enjoy a good standard of living. The present UI rates are: Contribution based personal allowance (£33.50 under 18, £44.05 ages 18 to 24, £55.65 ages 25 and over); Income based personal allowance (£33.50 under 18, £44.05 ages 18 to 24, £55.65 ages 25 and over); Couples (£66.50 both under 18, £87.30 both / one 18 or over); Dependent children (£42.27 from birth).18 4.3: Pressure to work Unemployed people receiving UI are not just relaxing at home and receiving money easily. They are faced with pressures to change their way of life and enter employment as soon as possible. The biggest pressure comes from visits by UI inspectors. These inspectors visit workers frequently, interviewing them to determine what obstacles are preventing them from finding work. Another pressure factor is fear of fraud. The Government has adopted a strict 18- http://www.welfarerights.net/guides/jobseekers.html stance against fraud, as is evidenced by its anti-fraud slogan: “BEATING FRAUD IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS.”5 The Fraud Act 2001 provides powers to improve fraud investigation and punish offenders more severely.17 Workers receiving UI who do not actively seek employment, or do not comply with the guidelines of JSA requirements, always live in fear that they will be exposed by skilled UI fraud investigators or by persons in their own community (by telephone, mail or the Internet to the UI fraud investigating authorities). UI beneficiaries are placed on strenuous training schemes designed to improve their employment prospects, especially tackling idleness among the hardest to help, and improving the basic skills of unskilled job seekers. The opposing Conservatives claim it is a cruel trick on unemployed people to place them on training schemes which often do little or nothing to improve their long term employment prospects.1 The Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) was introduced in our country with the aim to put pressure on the unemployed to compete on the labour market, thus paving the way for workfare. Under the old system, the unemployed only had to satisfy a number of general conditions in order to receive UI. With the JSA, in addition to such general conditions, certain individual conditions are imposed. The main condition is that the claimants must search for a given number of jobs per week, and must, on demand, provide evidence of their job seeking.3 The Conservative opponents to Blair’s government are promising a “Britain Works” system with the slogan “Can Work, Must Work Guarantee”, informing those who can work must do so or lose their UIs. Their contention is that the best way to 05- http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmpubacc/ 103/10304.htm 17- http://www.labour.org.uk/welfarereform04/ 01- http://www.scottishtories.org.uk/manifesto/a-stronger-society.html help unemployed people is to get them back to work as quickly as possible.1 4.4: Difficulties in finding Employment People receiving UI find it difficult to find employment due to several factors. By this definition, people are forced to continue receiving UI while they search for work. Seasonal Unemployment. Unemployment tends to occur in certain industries like Hotel & Catering, Tourism, Agriculture, Festival products,13 Construction and Shipping that lay off people during certain seasons each year.19 Their effects are often highly regionalised (for example, Cornwall suffers a great deal from this type of Unemployment).13 Demand-Deficient or Cyclical Unemployment situation. It happens when a nation’s total spending is too little.19 There is not enough demand to employ all those who want to work.13 In this situation goods and services remain unsold, so many industries reduce production and lay off employees.19 Most economists focus heavily on this type of Unemployment as they believe it takes place when there is a disequilibria in the economy. It varies with the trade cycle. When the economy is booming, there will be lots of demand and so employment will rise. If the economy slows down, demand will fall, and Unemployment will rise.13 The degree of substitutability in production between UI-eligible and ineligible people. Since UI-ineligibles receive no UI benefits, they search harder for work, more than UI-eligible people. Since UI-eligible and UI-ineligible people are good 01- http://www.scottishtories.org.uk/manifesto/a-stronger-society.html 13- http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/economy/policy/outcomes/ unemployment/unempth2.htm 19- The World Book Encyclopedia (International),Volumes 19, and 20 substitutes, then treating all people as though they were UI-eligible will overstate the re-employment prospects of UI-eligible people. The presence of UI-ineligible people in the workforce increases the optimal replacement rate, making it harder for UI-eligible workers to find re-employment.9 Labour market regulations. Grubb & Wells (1993) conducted an exhaustive analysis, finding that U.K labour market regulations such as restrictions on employers’ freedom to dismiss workers, limits on the use or the legal validity of fixed-term contracts, limits on the use of temporary work, restriction on the weekly hours of regular or overtime work, and limits on use of part-time work can stabilise Unemployment when a major decline in demand occurs.10 Frictional or Search Unemployment. This situation, which is short term in nature, exists even when jobs are available in plenty.19 It is created when someone loses their job or chooses to leave it13, and has not yet started a new job. It also includes individuals such as young people who have not recently been employed, but are now seeking a job.19 On an average, it takes everyone a reasonable period of time to search for the right job. This creates Unemployment. The more efficiently the job market matches people to jobs, and the better the economy, the lower this form of Unemployment will be. But if there is imperfect matching, the Unemployment will be higher.13 09- http://www.upjohninst.org/publications/wp/95-35.pdf 10- “Productivity Growth, Inflation & Unemployment: The Collected Essays Of Robert J. Gordon” by Gordon, Robert J. 19- The World Book Encyclopedia (International),Volumes 19, and 20 13- http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/economy/policy/outcomes/ unemployment/unempth2.htm Mismatch. A shift in technology may create Unemployment if there are barriers to labour mobility across occupations, regions and industrial sectors. An increased pace of technological change or growing openness to foreign trade might increase Unemployment.10 Structural Unemployment situation. This occurs when the structure of industry changes as a result of the development of the economy over a period of time;13 individuals seeking work have the wrong skills for the available jobs; new products and machinery are developed which calls for new skills from people.19 The change may be due to change in people’s tastes, or because technology has moved on, or because there is no longer demand (for example, shipbuilding and mining). Structural Unemployment depends on three factors. The first factor is mobility of labour: if people are able to quickly switch jobs from a declining industry to a rapidly growing one, then there will be less Unemployment. The second factor is the pace of change in the economy: the faster changes take place in demand, supply, and people’s tastes, the more Unemployment there will be.13 The last factor involves the regional structure of industry: if dying industries are heavily concentrated in one area, then it will be much more difficult for people to find new jobs.13 Supply shock. An adverse supply shock such as a higher real price of oil, can cause Unemployment to rise and productivity to fall.10 10- “Productivity Growth, Inflation & Unemployment: The Collected Essays Of Robert J. Gordon” by Gordon, Robert J. 13- http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/economy/policy/outcomes/ unemployment/unempth2.htm 19- The World Book Encyclopedia (International),Volumes 19, and 20 Part 5 – RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A BETTER SYSTEM: The proportion of people unemployed indicates how well a nation’s human resources are used and serves as an index of economic activity. An ideal UI system enables nations to help insure the livelihood of people in the face of structural shifts in whatever form, while preserving the benefits of an open and innovative economy. We should continue following the Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) system. The actual spell of Unemployment is a random variable and its expected value varies inversely with search effort. The main advantage of JSA is that it triggers an increase in search effort and reduces both the length of Unemployment spells and the equilibrium rate of Unemployment, thus maximising the expected lifetime utility of the representative worker. The increase in aggregate search effort will see a decrease in Unemployment and a rise in tax revenue funds.9 This system has already been implemented in 1996 and has been reasonably well established by now. It needs to be strengthened. I recommend the following ways of making it a better system: Problems of error and fraud relating to JSA should be tackled. I suggest three ways of doing this. First, the standards of administration should be raised. Second, effective incentives and targets should be introduced at all levels. Third, benefits should be made simpler to understand and administer because the present complex regulations create confusion and error, thereby opening the door to fraud.5 09- http://www.upjohninst.org/publications/wp/95-35.pdf 05- http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmpubacc/ 103/10304.htm The Security & Control programme needs to be overhauled. This programme, established in 1995-96, consisted of a number of wide ranging initiatives designed to achieve a demonstrable and sustained reduction in the levels of fraud and error within benefit expenditure programmes. It recorded reasonable success; in the three years to 1997-8 it reported savings of £2,495 million. Still, the level of fraud remained at over £1.5 billion a year.5 The JSA payment system should be changed. At present, payment is made by girocheque or automated credit transfer. In view of the fact that losses from fraudulent encashment of order books and girocheques is increasing (in 1997-8 the loss was recorded at £119 million), it is recommended that payment should be made only by automated credit transfer.18 New ways should be found to measure female claimant unemployment. The present measurement is fraught with problems because some unemployed women do not register as they choose to stay at home or have a family or for other reasons.14 The exceptions to JSA rules should be reviewed. At present there are many exceptions to JSA, whereby people can receive UI even if they do not comply with the JSA requirements. These exceptions should be reviewed in the light of fraud case study, so that loopholes that have led to fraud can be plugged quickly.18 05- http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmpubacc/ 103/10304.htm 18- http://www.welfarerights.net/guides/jobseekers.html 14- http://www.local.dtlr.gov.uk/datacata/employ.htm#unemploy Improved computerisation. All JSA computers should be upgraded or changed periodically. It has been seen that the inadequacy of the agency’s computer system is a major barrier to achieving improvements and accuracy of income support. Advanced, state-of-the-art software designed to detect error and fraud should be installed in computers at all levels within the agency.5 Job centre employees should be qualified, well trained and continue to undergo refresher training courses periodically, thereby not only educating them in a proper manner, but also extending flexibility to develop a more personalised approach, responding to the needs of individual clients.17 This will enable them to interview claimants effectively. The present questionnaire that a claimant is required to fill should be reviewed periodically to add, delete or amend requirements as a result of data obtained from error and fraud case scrutiny.104 The four main areas that register most fraudulent information are the claimant’s declared income, other benefits being received, satisfaction of the labour market conditions, and entrance into a valid Jobseeker’s Agreement.5 05- http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmpubacc/ 103/10304.htm 17- http://www.labour.org.uk/welfarereform04/ References used 01) Common Sense for Scotland – The Scottish Conservative and Unionist. http://www.scottishtories.org.uk/manifesto/a-stronger-society.html 02) “Dignity, Character and Self-Respect”, Edited by Robin S. Dillon 03) Dole Autonomy versus the Re-imposition of Work http://www.geocities.com/aufheben2/dole/html 04) “Economics of Unemployment: A comparative Analysis of Britain and the United States” by Hughes, James J. 05) House of Commons – Public Accounts – Third Report http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmpubacc/ 103/10304.htm 06) Jobseeker’s Allowance – The Site.org http://www.thesite.org.uk/homelawandmoney/money/benefitsandtax/ jobseekersallowance 07) Latest Unemployment Figures: IDS Statistics http://incomesdata.co.uk/statistics/statempl.htm 08) National Statistics Online. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=12 09) Optimal Unemployment Insurance http://www.upjohninst.org/publications/wp/95-35.pdf 10) “Productivity Growth, Inflation & Unemployment: The Collected Essays Of Robert J. Gordon” by Gordon, Robert J. 11) Respecting Oneself http://www.sps.ucla.edu/brochures/respectingoneself/respectingoneself.html 12) Theory 1 – Theories – Economic Indicators. http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/bank/business/external/indicators/theories1.htm 13) Types of Unemployment http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/economy/policy/outcomes/ unemployment/unempth2.htm 14) U.K Department of Transport, Local Government & the Regions http://www.local.dtlr.gov.uk/datacata/employ.htm#unemploy 15) U.K Unemployment http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/ 16) Unemployment in Britain: A European Success Story http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0600.pdf 17) Welfare Reform: The Labour Party: Securing Britain’s Future http://www.labour.org.uk/welfarereform04/ 18) Welfare Rights on the Net http://www.welfarerights.net/guides/jobseekers.html 19) The World Book Encyclopedia (International) 1992-6 World Book, Inc. Volumes 19, and 20 Read More