Excess labour and the business cycle: A comparative study of Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States

Against the background of firm-specific human capital theory, this paper investigates empirically the relative propensity of manufacturing industries in Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States to hold excess labour over the business cycle. Both stock and utilization dimensions of the labour input are integrated into the study. Throughout, discussion is linked to earlier research that has analysed the relative international performance of the Japanese labour market.