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 paper examines the role of the labor market in the transmission process of adjustment policies in developing countries. It begins by reviewing the recent evidence regarding the functioning of these markets. It then studies the implications of wage inertia, nominal contracts, labor market segmentation, and impediments to labor mobility for stabilization policies. The effect of labor market reforms on economic flexibility and the channels through which labor market imperfections alter the effects of structural adjustment measures are discussed next. The last part of the paper identifies a variety of issues that may require further investigation, such as the link between changes in relative wages and the distributional effects of adjustment policies.

The net effect on employment of structural changes now occurring in the United States will be determined by the actions that government, management, and labor take to create and support the conditions for new opportunity and to encourage people to move from old to new work. Many of the measures that need to be taken to ensure profitability involve changes in the type of work done and the number of people employed. Labor adjustment policies have to be factored into any decision taken by management to improve competitive position. The six crucial elements around which adjustment policies in the private sector should be structured are: (1) communication between management and labor regarding competitive realities, steps needed to improve market position, and rewards employees can expect; (2) employee involvement at the work level in the design and implementation of productivity improvements; (3) flexible total compensation that links wages and benefits to profitability; (4) advance notification to employees, unions, and the community of decisions affecting jobs; (5) reorientation of employee benefits so that employees moving between firms do not lose them; and (6) support programs that allow workers to shift to new opportunities. The critical elements around which public sector adjustment policies should be structured are incentives to reemployment, coordination of public and private resources, commitment to job training programs, promotion of economic development strategies, and educational reform to emphasize the skills and attitudes needed to prepare students for higher-skilled, technology-based jobs. (The document contains 164 references.) (CML)

This report quantifies labor mobility costs in developing countries and simulates the implied adjustment paths of employment and wages following a change in trade policy. High mobility costs are shown to reduce the potential gains to trade reform.

Globalization and the growing integration of national markets have had profound effects on the operation of markets, not least labour markets. In this book, a range of leading commentators on globalization and labour markets present original contribution on the interaction between these two areas. This book assesses the impact of globalization on trade, cross-border investment and migration from both a theoretical and econometric standpoint and discusses the possible applications of this analysis for both industrialized and developing countries.