Klaus Schömann - Böcker

The deregulation of labour law in the European Union was thought to be a spur to lasting growth of employment and an increase in labour market efficiency. This book reveals that the results of such policies have been far from those expected.This study provides a country by country overview of the legal regulations concerning employment protection and fixed-term employment in the twelve Member States of the European Union (prior to its expansion in 1995). Employment patterns of fixed-term employees are compared with those of employees in standard employment relationships, with the analytical focus on age-, gender- and industry specific differences. The authors then look beyond country-specific patterns and assess the probability of fixed-term employment within the European Union. They offer hypotheses concerning the impact upon the labour market of deregulation and of regulation.This is a valuable discussion of how legal, sociological and economic labour market theories contribute to an understanding of atypical employment.

Education and training are of critical importance to individual employment prospects. This book questions whether the policies that govern education, training and employment actually facilitate or inhibit social integration. The authors analyse initial entry into the labour market and subsequent movements between employers, and explore links between education, training and the labour market. The book argues that although education is a good predictor of labour market integration and employment potential, and despite political efforts, social background nevertheless remains influential. The importance of continued training to improve opportunities for promotion is also demonstrated. The volume draws on economic, sociological and political science research to examine the potential for lifelong learning to enhance social integration, and new theories and evidence on the transitional labour market of learning and working are discussed. A wide range of European countries are also analysed using data from the European Community Household Panel surveys (ECHP), as well as national enterprise-level surveys and case studies.Education, Training and Employment Dynamics will be welcomed by a varied audience; economists will find the challenge to human capital theory inspiring, and sociologists are offered a new approach to life course research, whilst political scientists will find an interesting study of multi-level policy making in the EU.

This book offers a wide-ranging overview of the state of labour market forecasting in selected OECD countries. Besides presenting forecasting models, the contributions provide an introduction to past experiences of forecasting, highlight the requirements for building appropriate data sets and present the most up-to-date forecasts available. In most cases the forecasts project mismatches in the labour market as they are likely to occur in the coming years with respect to occupational groups, qualifications and employment in specific sectors. The authors demonstrate how these insights might be used to help reduce employment risks both for the individual worker and the national labour market as a whole. The country examples also show how information on labour market trends is disseminated and used by various actors, such as policymakers, firms and individuals. In a world of rapid structural change, the results of the research presented in this book could help cushion the impact of potential shocks from future mismatches and skill shortages in the job market. Policymakers at the supranational, national and regional level, and academics in the fields of labour market theory and policy can all draw valuable information from this insightful study.