Educational Expansion and Labour Market: a Comparative Study of Five European Countries - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom - with Special Reference to the United States

Abstract

This is the final report of the TSER [Targeted Socio-economic Research] project ‘Educational expansion and labour markets’ (EDEX) carried out in cooperation with British, French, German, Italian and Spanish teams. It analyses the long-term consequences of the rise in levels of education on access to employment and human resource management. Taking a comparative approach, four major questions are addressed: What are the processes and factors leading to educational expansion? How are generations with increasing levels of qualifications spread throughout the employment system and with what private returns? How has this affected company organisation and management of human resources and what links have been established between skills supply and demand? What are the implications for national systems linking education to employment and to what extent are countries converging or diverging? The analyses provide a sound basis for understanding and shaping the links between education and employment, and thus between the supply of and demand for skills on labour markets.