--- Christian Gregory <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Finally, think about how so many of these > concepts are culturally determined. If > 'unemployment' in the US were > determined the > way it is in Japan, the figure would jump about > 1% > with one calculation. > > I'm not sure I follow the argument that, b/c > Japanese statisticians define > employment differently, that is due to cultural > difference. That seems more > like an institutional choice. > > Also, do you know what the Japanese count that > the US doesn't? In the US, if > you count marginally attached and discouraged > workers, the rate is 6.4%. But > no one seems shocked and that is publicly > available. > > Christian >
It's a good point. In this case I stated it sloppily and really meant 'specific to a country', and implying that these differences might actually be quite arbitrary (a lot of what the BLS does in the US just seems to go back to traditions started under FDR). However, attitudes about unemployment do differ and they might follow cultural patterns (though every time I try to find one I'm hanged for sure that there is nothing sure). One possibility is that people avoid being counted officially as unemployed because they are too ashamed to admit it. I mean, if you can't qualify for 'unemployment compensation payments' (and to get these the requirements are quite strict in the US), then you might not have any reason whatsoever to go into an 'employment security office' in the first place and find the whole bureaucratic rigamarole a pain. Consider, you only have ten offices for the whole of Chicago and might be inclined to say, Oh, f- that sh-, I'm out of here. The employment security offices do not take in the entire population. In Japan, many middle aged men just retire early rather than accept part-time jobs or admit they are unemployed. But I am not saying these are culturally specific. As for what the Japanese count and the US doesn't, the Japanese site explains in detail how Japan differs from ILO and OECD patterns and that was in the links I sent earlier. I do know if Japan had male incarceration like the US, it would have 1 million men in jail and 500,000 in direct court supervision , but it doesn't even have 50,000 men in jail. And it's armed forces would be 5 times the size they are to match the US. On the other hand, I also know that Japanese cultural practice still keeps a lot of working age women out of the full time job market, though this is changing and will have to change further with the 'greying' of society. This is a complex trend, because it is in part due to the fact that so many women now work that so many are delaying having children or not having children at all. Finally, I think the Japanese unemployment count is too low too. C Jannuzi __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com
