Workshop on Local Employment Development 2005 (Februaly 9–10)
Local Governance for Promoting Employment —Comparing the Performance of Japan and Seven Countries—

The JILPT, in its medium-term research, analyses factors that create regional divergences in the unemployment structure, and makes proposals on industrial policy and on measures for improving the labor market conditions. As part of this research, it invited researchers from the EU countries, the U.S., and the OECD to a research workshop with the principal objective of learning from international experience.

Information

• Date: Februaly 9–10, 2005
• Theme: Local Governance for Promoting Employment —Comparing the Performance of Japan and Seven Countries—

Background

Against the widening regional divergences in labor market conditions which have become apparent in the sluggish economy since 1990s, there are calls or promoting policy decentralization and moves to transfer authority on employment policy to regional governments.

Participants (Discussant)

• Sylvain Giguère / Deputy Head, LEED Programme (OECD)
• Robert Strauss / Head of Unit, Employment Strategy, DG Employment And Social Affairs, European Commission (EU)
• Ivan Turok / Professor, University of Glasgow (U.K.)
• Hugh Mosley / Senior Fellow, Social Science Center Berlin (Germany)
• Xavier Greffe / Professor, Université de Paris I, Sorbonne (France)
• Claudio Tagliaferro / Manager, Area Studi Instituzionali e Normativi, ISFOL (Italy)
• Jan Hendeliowitz / Regional Director, The Public Employment Service, Storstrøm Region (Denmark)
• Randall Eberts / Executive Director, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research (U.S.)
• Kozo Aoyama / President, Urban Policy Institute of New York (U.S.)
• Michèle Fong / Manager, Active Employment Measures Policy, Human Research and Skills Development (Canada)
• Yoshio Higuchi / Professor, Keio University and Senior Research Fellow, JILPT (Japan)
• Minoru Ito / Research Director, JILPT (Japan)
• Kazufumi Yugami / Researcher, JILPT (Japan)

Submitted Papers

The following is the book containing papers presented at the workshop with report of some successful cases of regional employment development in each country, which was added to the papers based on the discussions at the workshop.

Edited by Sylvain Giguère, Yoshio Higuchi, and the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

• Preface (PDF:26KB)
• Chapter 1. Local Governance for Promoting Economic and Employment Development: Challenges for Japan (PDF:54KB) Sylvain Giguère and Yoshio Higuchi
• Chapter 2. The Reasons Why Japan's Local Communities Need Employment Strategies (PDF:176KB) Yoshio Higuchi (Japan)
• Chapter 3. Local Employment Development, Decentralisation, Governance and the Role of Government (PDF:116KB) Sylvain Giguère (OECD)
• Chapter 4. The Local Dimension of the European Employment Strategy (PDF:123KB) Robert Strauss (EU)
• Chapter 5. Local Employment Development: The French Model (PDF:158KB) Xavier Greffe (France)
• Chapter 6.Local Employment Measures in the U.K.: Overview and Assessment (PDF:134KB) Ivan Turok (U.K.)
• Chapter 7. Overview of State and Local Economic Development Policies and Practice in the United States (PDF:138KB) Randall W. Eberts (U.S.)
• Chapter 8. Regional Employment Development Policies and Programs in the United States (PDF:142KB) Kozo Aoyama (U.S.)
• Chapter 9. Employment Policy in Denmark: High Levels of Employment, Flexibility and Welfare Security (PDF:147KB) Jan Hendeliowitz and Carina B. Woollhead (Denmark)
• Chapter 10. Active Employment Measures in Canada: the Role of Regional Economic Development Agencies (PDF:93KB) Michèle Fong (Canada)
• Chapter 11. Instruments and Programmes for Local Development in Italy (PDF:187KB) Claudio Tagliaferro (Italy)
• Chapter 12. Job-Centers for Local Employment Promotion in Germany (PDF:151KB) Hugh Mosley (Germany)
• Chapter 13. The Transition and Current Situation of Regional Employment Policies in Japan (193KB) Minoru Ito and Kazufumi Yugami (Japan)