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La flexibilité comparée des marchés du travail américain et japonais

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  • David Jestaz
  • Olivier Passet

Abstract

[fre] Depuis le début des années soixante-dix, les Etats-Unis et le Japon se distinguent des autres pays de l'OCDE par le fait que le taux de chômage est pour l'essentiel stationnaire (il fluctue autour d'une moyenne constante : cette fluctuation est faible au Japon et forte aux Etats-Unis). Partant de ces faits saillants, nous avons cherché à distinguer quelles étaient les caractéristiques des marchés du travail respectifs, afin de les inscrire dans la régulation économique d'ensemble. Nous avons donc cherché à situer notre réflexion dans une perspective générale, en intégrant le fonctionnement des marchés financiers, du système de formation et plus généralement, des interventions de politique économique. De cette analyse comparée, il ressort que les Etats-Unis et le Japon se trouvent être deux cas polaires, tant dans la configuration de l'emploi que dans l'adaptation cyclique. La configuration de l'emploi est assez stable depuis trente ans, aucun des deux pays n'ayant décidé de réformer le fonctionnement de son marché du travail : l'emploi est peu protégé aux Etats- Unis, quel que soit le statut, alors que le Japon offre la vision d'un système dual où coexistent l'emploi à vie et les statuts atypiques. En matière de comportement cyclique, le premier pays se caractérise par une rigidité nominale des salaires, ce qui provoque une plus grande variabilité de la quantité de travail par rapport au cycle, loin donc de la présentation néoclassique des marchés. Au contraire, au Japon, les salaires nominaux sont flexibles et la quantité de travail relativement invariante. Mais, cette fexibi- lité moyenne des prix coexiste avec une forte viscosité des prix relatifs. Par ailleurs, les deux pays ont comme spécificité d'avoir parfaitement intégré leur marché du travail à une forme de contrat social qui sert à partager le poids des ajustements. Au Japon, il ressort que le marché du travail a été vidé de sa fonction d'allocation de la main-d'œuvre, au profit d'un système interne aux entreprises ; aux Etats-Unis, ce marché externe aux entreprises conserve un rôle crucial dans la réallocation de la main-d'œuvre. In-fine, il ressort de l'étude de ces deux pays que la flexibilité n'admet pas un définition unique. A la définition classique de l'OCDE, on peut opposer une autre définition qui organise la transmission des déséquilibres dans le cadre d'un contrat social qui fige certains paramètres. Le Japon et les Etats-Unis mettent en œuvre deux formes de cohérence dans ce partage des ajustements ; c'est du côté du défaut de cohérence qu'il faut chercher une réponse aux échecs de nombreux pays européens à éviter la dérive du taux de chômage. [eng] Japan vs. the United States : a comparison of labor market flexibility David Jestaz, Olivier Passet It is a well documented fact that no substantial shift of employment in Japan and in the United States have been observed since the seventies. The unemployment rate in both countries have followed a stationary process. The deviation around the trend is important in the United States and small in Japan, but both trend remain constant. In this paper we document the main features of the labor markets of both countries. We try to focus on important aspects directly correlated to the labor markets. For instance, the financial system is a central question for our purpose, as well as the educational system. Neither Japan, nor the US has proceeded to a legal reform of the labor market. Despite the unchanged legislation, they have both successfully coped with unemployment. On the one hand, Japan has experienced very few employment variation. Productivity is pro-cyclical and the wage setting is very flexible because wage can be priced many times a year. Moreover, many Japanese workers benefit from the life time employment. Although, others are precluded from that status and suffer inferior positions. On the other hand, nominal wages are sticky in the United States. This sluggish adjustment sharply raise the unemployment during recessions. It is far from the neoclassical framework which is supposed to suit the American case. Both countries has successfully included their labor market in a social contract. In Japan, the labor market has lost its allocation function in favor of internal markets. In the United States, the allocation process hinges on the labor market efficiency. We reached the conclusion that there is no standardized definition for flexibility. The classical OECD definition can be challenged by another one. In this definition, the social compact has a crucial role to organize the transmission of disequilibrium. A lack of consistency regarding the social contract prevents Europe from successfully tackling with high unemployment rate.

Suggested Citation

  • David Jestaz & Olivier Passet, 1997. "La flexibilité comparée des marchés du travail américain et japonais," Revue de l'OFCE, Programme National Persée, vol. 63(1), pages 143-194.
  • Handle: RePEc:prs:rvofce:ofce_0751-6614_1997_num_63_1_1477
    DOI: 10.3406/ofce.1997.1477
    Note: DOI:10.3406/ofce.1997.1477
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    References listed on IDEAS

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