HIGHER-EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

The flow of Japanese students from the educational system into the emp loyment system is discussed with particular reference to higher educat ion. The author shows that in the Japanese case cultural processes hav e to be considered as well as those deriving from purely economic mode ls. Life-time (or at any rate long term) employment and the prevalence of a single annual recruitment are examples of how the employment sys tem influences educational choices. The relationships between economic trends and graduate employment opportunities are discussed, highlight ing the impact of university expansion, the trend towards equalization of earnings, the marked increase in female participation, changing pa tterns of movement towards and away from city locations and the divers ification of industry into new fields such as information science. Det ailed examination of the transition from the educational to the employ ment system confirms the importance of cultural factors. Since major c orporations tend to recruit from the more prestigious universities and since starting salaries do not vary greatly employment competition is focussed more upon the company than the actual job undertaken. Pay di fferentials between individuals do not emerge till employees are into their 30's. This approach implies a company-oriented theory of human c apital which is in contrast with the more individualistic theories typ ical of Western countries. However, changes in Japanese cultural attit udes, developments in the way in which modem industry is structured an d the drive towards internationalization, all point towards the adopti on of a more individualistic theory of human capital.