Introduction

Considerable work has now been done on the incorporation of comparative industrial relations institutions into the explanation of wage bargain outcomes and hence into macroeconomic models, as in Calmfors and Driffill (1988) and Jackman, Layard, Nickell and Wadhwani (1991) (hereafter JLNW). There is virtually no comparable work on the comparative role of education and training (ET) systems. This study is a preliminary attempt to see how the relations between ET systems, mismatch and equilibrium unemployment might fit into a simple version of the open economy model in Chapter 8 of JLNW.

The study draws first on the now substantial literature on comparative national ET systems (Sorge and Warner, 1980; Dore, 1987; Finegold and Soskice, 1988; Maurice, Sellier and Silvestre, 1986). To replicate as far as possible the country study chapters in this volume, section 3 looks at Germany, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The focus, as in much of the ET literature, is on the initial/further/and re/training of workers up to the technical level, thus leaving higher education aside. The consensus view in the literature is that Germany, Japan and Sweden have effective ET systems, while the United Kingdom and the United States do not. The literature on ET systems does not define ‘effectiveness’ clearly, but two criteria are implicitly used: first, the reduction of skills mismatch; and second, reflecting the preoccupation of policymakers with international competitiveness, the increased provision of skills needed for export success, and more generally a labour force which is well educated and trained.