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Growth differential and sectoral analysis by Michel Mousel and Ronan Le Berre. The five countries which were the object of sectoral studies featured, over the reference period (1955-1977) highly contrasting growth rates. The « growth differential » or gap between the average growth of the five countries and the growth rate of each one ranges from — 1 ,4% for the U K. to + 4,6% for Japan. The usual global demographic or macroeconomic indicators do indeed show that there was a phenomenon of « catching up » of the more advanced of countries on the part of those which were less advanced. The greater the economic lag at the beginning of the period, the stronger the growth But they are not tantamount to explanations, and, furthermore, the notion of «catching up» cannot account for all the observations made — particularly as regards the U K. The sectoral approach enables us to get closer to the mechanisms which presided over evolutions First of all, it shows that the amplitude of structural changes in the productive apparatus bears a direct relation to the dynamism of growth. These changes have tended to bring the characteristics of the three countries with positive growth differentials (Japan, France and Federal Republic of Germany) closer to those of the U.SA. The evolution of relative productivity rates by sectors and by countries enables us to identify with some precision the respective roles of the main components of the productive system, those which act as brakes and those which, on the contrary, exert a motive force. The latter is particularly the case in the capital equipment sector of entreprises and households. If we can understand the particular role it plays through its function of stimulator and spreader of technological progress in the rest of the economy, it is important to spot for future reference in what fields such action can be exerted. These fields do not necessarily belong only to the capital equipment sector : it may be that energy, transport and communications, and the services renovated by computerization will subsequently contribute to this motive role.

The formation of supply : international and sectoral comparison by François Cellier. During the 25 years of sustained growth enjoyed by the major western economies, the relative shares of labour and of capital used for production changed constantly. Beyond national particularities, it seems that in industry a trend developed toward a rise in the growth of per capita capital accompanied by a more or less precocious decrease in the productivity of capital. Thus we may in general speak of the passing from a growth of the extensive type to a growth of the intensive type, a passing to which apparently a deceleration in the growth of industrial employment should be imputed in the countries in which it occurred. Whereas production and employment in the non-industrial sectors do not appear to be dependent only on problematics in terms of supply, it therefore seems that the nature of the investments of industry had a significant influence on the development of that sector and its capacity for creating jobs.

The distribution of incomes, the formation of profit : comparison between the five major economies by Catherine Lapierre-Donzel. This article bears on the analysis of the wages-profits distribution of the five industrialized economies which are the object of this publication. It shows, in the long term trends characterizing the years 1950 to 1970, a rather general correlation between the magnitude of gams in productivity, that of rises in real wages, and the increase in the share of profits in the value added. Thus, in the Federal Republic of Germany for some ten years, in Japan and in France this share increased tendentially at the same times as we observed in those three countries a high growth rate of the productivity of labour and of the purchasing power of wage earners. Conversely the share of profits in the value added evolves unfavourably in the U S A in most periods, and even more so in the U K , at the same time as we observe in those countries only slight increases in the productivity of labour and in real wages. However, as early as the 1960's the German economy diverged from the path it had followed till then : a drop in the share of profits in the value added co-existed with productivity gams which were still high. Between 1970 and 1975, the Japanese and French economies broke with their preceding trends, Japan as soon as 1970, and France from 1974 on In the latter two countries, a great decrease in the profit to income ratio was observed. The abrupt aggravation of the short-run profile of the economic situation produced a durable slowing down of the labour productivity rate, which came up against the inertia of habits acquired with increases in purchasing power. The indicators obtained concerning the most recent period (1975-1978), however, show the transient character of the 1 970-1 975 period II seems that when wage increases have adapted to new difficulties in the three (French, Japanese and West German) economies, the correlation will once again be confirmed, even if we register a lesser productivity divergence with Anglo-Saxon economies.

Structural reactions of the major economies to the crisis by Yves Barou and Hugues Bertrand. The object of this article is to try to draw up an initial balance sheet of the information we have at the present time on this vast subject. First it is advisable to emphasize the fact that in spite of the importance traditionally attributed to the first oil shock, in 1973, the nineteen-seventies possess a unity which may be characterized in two ways : on the one hand, the initial difficulties (investment, growth, income distribution, productivity) preceded the oil shock, France being an apparent exception , on the other hand, the preceding «structural» (sectoral) evolutions, far from being transformed or reversed from 1973 on, were on the contrary maintained and amplified. Thus analyzed, the oil shock does not give rise to a new process : it accelerates the preceding structural evolutions, some of them obvious, and others still veiled In particular, we find many similarities between France, the Federal Republic of Germany and Japan, which contrast with what we find in the USA or the U K It is remarkable that the evolution of the apparent productivity of labor in the medium run seems to be independent of economic policies adopted in the short run. It is as though it were due to long-run structural factors having no narrow relationship with provisions made or the economic behaviors that were observed (more or less rapid adjustment of employment, curbing of remunerations, etc ). Likewise, in most countries, industrial activities went through a very : difficult period, under the pressure of wage claims which were still high and an often strong contraction of outlets. The difference in intensity of this constraint depending upon the country scarcely appears to have affected medium— term evolution, as if, once again, the medium-term «laws» had more weight than elaborate short-term policies. Though it is relatively easy to designate the macro-sectors which are most seriously affected by the difficulties of the period in this or that country, on the other hand it seems difficult, at that level of observation, to detect the appearance of new motive sectors bearing the seeds of possible later growth, either because there are none or because they cannot be observed at that rough level of macroeconomic observation. In this general context France's economy appears to occupy a somewhat traditional median position, from a twofold standpoint on the one hand, it has not known abrupt, ample movements as have the USA, Japan or the U K . but rather a gentle evolution , on the other hand, it remains in an intermediate situation with respect to it chief partners, marked however by a closer kinship with the Federal Republic of Germany and Japan. The relative resistance in 1974-1978 to the crisis and to the threat of recession, however, cannot fail to remain worrisome for what is to follow, because of a general lack of dynamism, the most obvious feature of which is the marked and lasting weakening of the investment rate.