This volume brings together an international group of contributors to explore the impacts of structural economic change and technological progress on labor markets. The contributors goal is to present an in-depth comparative study of the ways in which different national economies have adjusted to structural changes like the shift to service-based economies and technological changes brought about by the increasing use of the computer in offices and on the production line. Examining the adjustment process from both a micro and macro perspective, the contributors analyze the flexibility potentials within the different institutional organizations of the labor market in the U.S., France, West Germany, Great Britain, and Sweden.

The study begins with a comprehensive introduction written by the editors which discusses the problem of structural and technological change in economic, social, and political terms. Two subsequent chapters address the economic structures of post-industrial society and the differential characteristics of employment growth in service industries. The contributors then present individual analyses of the labor market situation in the five countries under study as well as two general studies of institutions regulating the labor market and flexibility within the labor market. Throughout, the contributors are concerned with key issues such as which systems seem to adapt best, how skill and educational needs may be met in the changing labor market, and the importance of flexibility in a system characterized by ongoing structural and technological change. Ideal as supplementary reading for advanced courses in labor economics and industrial organization, this volume offers important new insights into labor market flexibility in the face of significant and continuing change.

This study examines the labor markets of the United States and Germany, developing a framework for the analysis of labor market dynamics based upon the dynamic flow analysis, instead of the conventional labor stock data. Until recently, labor market analysis was mainly based on stock data, which is a suitable data source for structural and aggregate phenomena but does not allow for the analysis of processes that are behind the net changes identified by stock data. To identify the dynamic elements in the labor market, information on flows is needed. In recent years flow data have become available, indicating that an enormous amount of that labor market mobility is occurring every month.

The use of flow data to analyze questions of the mismatch in the labor market and the underlying labor market dynamics has been suggested recently by scholars. The analysis presented in this study of the labor market in the U.S. and Germany uses these data to link dynamic concepts of labor market adjustment to flow data. This study will be of interest to scholars in labor economics and industrial organization.

Well-functioning labour markets are a precondition for economic development. In order to function smoothly the market needs to be able to adjust effectively and quickly to new developments. An understanding and analysis of adjustment processes within labour markets is therefore essential for economic theory and policy proposals. This study discusses the 'flow approach' to mobility and adjustment in labour markets. It presents an overview of flow analysis and provides many new theoretical and empirical insights. It covers all the major industrialized economies, including: USA, Canada, Japan, The Netherlands, UK, France, Italy and Germany.

Well-functioning labour markets are a precondition for economic development. In order to function smoothly the market needs to be able to adjust effectively and quickly to new developments. An understanding and analysis of adjustment processes within labour markets is therefore essential for economic theory and policy proposals. This study discusses the 'flow approach' to mobility and adjustment in labour markets. It presents an overview of flow analysis and provides many new theoretical and empirical insights. It covers all the major industrialized economies, including: USA, Canada, Japan, The Netherlands, UK, France, Italy and Germany.

The labour markets in the United States and in Germany could hardly be more different. The USA, with its tremendous job growth, is often held up as the prime example of the job-creating power of unfettered markets, while Germany is seen as the textbook case of an overregulated European labour market stifling employment growth. For many policy advisers the lessons are clear: if Europeans want to emulate the success of the Americans, they must deregulate their economies. On the other hand, economists in the USA, impressed with Germany's income growth and social stability, have shown increasing interest in the role that non-market institutions play in the German context. This work provides an in-depth analysis of the functioning of various labour market institutions in both the USA and Germany. In close studies of the regulatory differences between the two countries, the authors examine the impact of those institutions on economic performance. On the basis of their findings, they argue that the choice is not one between regulation and deregulation, but rather between different forms and degrees of regulation.

Despite exporting more good and services than any other country in the world, economic growth in Germany has been slow through the nineties and the early twenty first century with low wage growth, rising unemployment and increasing public deficits. German unemployment was traditionally diagnosed as structural, neglecting macroeconomic causes of economic stagnancy in the economic policy debate. This book offers a fresh, innovative analysis of the German economic policy debate, containing essays from eight distinguished international economists.

These essays tackle various aspects of the German and European market, ranging from theoretical issues criticizing the narrowness of the debate, analyses of the real effects of monetary policies in the short and long run, fiscal policy contributions, wage policies, to family policies, arguing for a more expansionary macroeconomic policy to counteract economic stagnancy and improve prosperity in Germany and Europe.

Despite exporting more good and services than any other country in the world, economic growth in Germany has been slow through the nineties and the early twenty first century with low wage growth, rising unemployment and increasing public deficits. German unemployment was traditionally diagnosed as structural, neglecting macroeconomic causes of economic stagnancy in the economic policy debate. This book offers a fresh, innovative analysis of the German economic policy debate, containing essays from eight distinguished international economists.

These essays tackle various aspects of the German and European market, ranging from theoretical issues criticizing the narrowness of the debate, analyses of the real effects of monetary policies in the short and long run, fiscal policy contributions, wage policies, to family policies, arguing for a more expansionary macroeconomic policy to counteract economic stagnancy and improve prosperity in Germany and Europe.

Why is Europe's employment rate almost 10 percent lower than that of the United States? This "jobs gap" has typically been blamed on the rigidity of European labor markets. But in "Services and Employment," an international group of leading labor economists suggests quite a different explanation. Drawing on the findings of a two-year research project that examined data from France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, these economists argue that Europe's 25 million "missing" jobs can be attributed almost entirely to its relative lack of service jobs. The jobs gap is actually a services gap. But, "Services and Employment" asks, why does the United States consume services at such a greater rate than Europe?

"Services and Employment" is the first systematic and comprehensive international comparison on the subject. Mary Gregory, Wiemer Salverda, Ronald Schettkat, and their fellow contributors consider the possible role played by differences in how certain services--particularly health care and education--are provided in Europe and the United States. They examine arguments that Americans consume more services because of their higher incomes and that American households outsource more domestic work. The contributors also ask whether differences between U.S. and European service sectors encapsulate fundamental trans-Atlantic differences in lifestyle choices.

In addition to the editors, the contributors include Victor Fuchs, William Baumol, Giovanni Russo, Adriaan Kalwij, Stephen Machin, Andrew Glyn, Joachin Moller, John Schmitt, Michel Sollogoub, Robert Gordon, and Richard Freeman."