Sir Alec Cairncross has alternated between academic life and government employment. He was Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Glasgow from 1951 to 1961, and Master of St Peter's College, Oxford from 1969 to 1978. In the 1960s he was Economic Adviser to Her Majesty's Government from 1961 to 1964 and thereafter Head of the Government Economic Service until 1969. He has held many further advisory posts and has published numerous books and articles on aspects of economic policy and performance, including Economics and Economic Policy (Blackwell, 1986).