Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/33756 
Year of Publication: 
2006
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 2257
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper investigates the determinants of the service sector employment share in the EU-15, for the aggregate service sector, four sub-sectors and twelve service sector branches. Recently, both Europe and the US have experienced an increase in the share of service-related jobs in total employment. Although converging in all European countries, a significant gap in the share of service jobs in Europe relative to the US persists. Understanding the main factors behind this gap is key to achieving higher employment levels in Europe. This paper focuses on the role of barriers in the EU-15 which may have hindered its ability to absorb labour supply and therefore to adjust efficiently to the sectoral reallocation of labour. We find that a crucial role in this process has been played by the institutional framework affecting flexibility in the labour market and by the mismatch between workers' skills and job vacancies.
Subjects: 
services
sectoral adjustment
employment share
Europe
US
institutions in the labour and product market
JEL: 
E24
J21
J23
J24
L80
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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