---
canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-23/employment-and-productivity-disentangling-employment-structure-and-qualification-effects/"
title: "Employment and Productivity: Disentangling Employment Structure and Qualification Effects"
author:
  name: "CSLS"
  url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/"
date_published: "2026-07-13T07:33:47+00:00"
date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:33:47+00:00"
post_type: "ipm"
summary: ""
ipm_issue_period:
  - "Spring 2012"
ipm_keyword:
  - "decomposition"
  - "education"
  - "employment"
  - "employment rate"
  - "GDP"
  - "human capital"
  - "Lisbon Strategy"
  - "OECD"
  - "productivity"
  - "qualification"
ipm_research_theme:
  - "Labour"
  - "Sectoral and firm-level dynamics"
ipm_country_focus:
  - "Europe"
  - "International"
  - "OECD"
  - "United States"
featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp"
status: "publish"
---

# Employment and Productivity: Disentangling Employment Structure and Qualification Effects

Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-23/employment-and-productivity-disentangling-employment-structure-and-qualification-effects/

# Employment and Productivity: Disentangling Employment Structure and Qualification Effects

[Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-23-4-Bourles-Cette-Cozarenco.pdf)

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Cite this article as:

Bourlès, Renaud, Gilbert Cette, and Anastasia Cozarenco. 2012. “Employment and Productivity: Disentangling Employment Structure and Qualification Effects.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 23 (Spring 2012): 44–54. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-23/employment-and-productivity-disentangling-employment-structure-and-qualification-effects/

## Authors:

-
Renaud Bourlès
École Centrale Marseille / GREQAM

-
Gilbert Cette
Banque de France; University of Aix-Marseille II (CEDERS); INSEE-CREST; University of Aix-Marseille II (CEDERS)

-
Anastasia Cozarenco
Université de la Méditerranée

## IPM Issue 23

Spring 2012 pp. 44–54

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## Abstract

## Résumé

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Based on a disaggregation of the workforce into three qualification or educational attainment categories, the article estimates the effects on hourly productivity from changes in the employment rate structure and from changes in the qualification structure. 21 OECD countries are then ranked in terms of the potential gains in GDP they could expect from moving to the educational attainment rates and employment rates of the best performing countries. RÉSUMÉ S’appuyant sur une désagrégation de la population active en trois catégories de qualifications ou de niveaux d’instruction, cet article estime les effets sur la productivité horaire de changements de la structure du taux d’emploi et de changements de la structure des qualifications. Nous classons ensuite 21 pays de l’OCDE selon les gains potentiels de leur PIB auquel ils pourraient s’attendre s’ils atteignaient les taux de niveaux d’instruction et les taux d’emploi des pays les plus performants. W HICH EMPLOYMENT – BASED POLICY would

Sur la base d’une désagrégation de la population active en trois catégories de qualifications ou de niveaux de scolarité, l’article estime les effets sur la productivité horaire des variations de la structure du taux d’emploi et des variations de la structure des qualifications. 21 pays de l’OCDE sont ensuite classés selon les gains potentiels de PIB qu’ils pourraient escompter en adoptant les taux de scolarité et les taux d’emploi des pays les plus performants.

[Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-23-4-Bourles-Cette-Cozarenco.pdf)
