The labor markets in the United States and in Germany could hardly be more different. The USA, with its tremendous job growth, is often held up as the prime example of the job-creating power of unfettered markets, while Germany is seen as the textbook case of an overregulated European labor market stifling employment growth. For many policy advisers the lessons are clear: if Europeans want to emulate the success of the Americans, they must deregulate their economies. On the other hand, economists in the USA, impressed with Germany's income growth and social stability, have shown increasing interest in the role that non-market institutions play in the German context. Institutional Frameworks and Labor Market Performance provides an in-depth analysis of the functioning of varioius labor market institutions in both the USA and Germany. In close studies of the regulatory differences between the two coountries, the authors examine the impact of those institutions on economic performance. On the basis of their findings they argue that the choice is not one between regulation and deregulation, but rather between different forms and degrees of regulatoin. The authors discuss all the factors that influence the functioning of labor markets, including: *educational and vocational training sytems *personnel recruitment, selection and dismissal *work organization and hours of work *labor law and labor relations The book brings together leading specialists from the USA and Germany and will be of interest to students and practitioners in economics, poilitical science and the sociology of work.