Levels and systems of employment in the Japanese retail trade: a comparison with France
比较日本和法国零售业的就业水平差异，从经济学角度解释原因，并分析两国就业体系中劳动力分割与灵活性的差异，涉及家庭结构、制度特征等因素。
The Japanese retail trade generates considerably more jobs than its French counterpart, and it manages these jobs in a very different way. The aim of this paper is to present both an economic explanation of the comparative levels of the retail employment in both countries and a socio-economic comparative interpretation of the corresponding employment systems. The first part of the paper presents the main differences between the two countries in respect of employment levels in retailing. In the second part, we put forward a set of economic explanations for these differences. In the third part, more qualitative differences in employment systems and, in particular, labour segmentation and flexibility, are analysed against the background of family structures and norms and of certain institutional features at national and industry level. This final part provides an opportunity for a reassessment of the concepts that have traditionally underpinned segmentation and dual labour market theories. Copyright 2001 by Oxford University Press.