Youth Employment Patterns in Segmented Labor Markets in the U.S. and Europe

This paper investigates interindustry patterns of youth employment in the United States and six Western European economies. Statistical analysis is conducted on an institutional model that relates youth employment share to two main aspects of national pay structures: the degree of labor-market segmentation (indicated by pay dispersion for adult employees of the same sex) and the importance of wage for age rules (indicated by youth relative pay). Both the degree of segmentation and relative wage levels prove influential, though there are interestingly US/EEC differences.