As the world entered the 21st century, global skill shortages in many occupations were evident throughout the world. While these were mitigated by a global recession, there is no generally agreed upon method for measuring these shortages. This text discusses various theories of measurement. Using data from 19 developed countries in North America, Europe and the Pacific region, the authors explore the various aspects of skilled labour shortages, develop a methodology of measuring shortages by occupation and provide estimates of the likelihood of the occurrence of such shortages. They develop labour market indicators which measure the degree or shortage or surplus in different occupations. The study covers as many as 49 occupational groups, although the number varies by country. The indicators are compared to anecdotal reports about shortages in the countries studied as well as correlated with various economic, political and institutional indicators. Some occupations such as computer scientists were common across countries and part of a global shortage.
Dr. Malcolm S. Cohen is President of Employment Research Corporation in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Cohen has directed numerous labor market research and forecasting studies. He conducted minimum wage studies for the Federal Government and is involved with affirmative action programs in the private sector. Dr. Cohen testifies as an expert witness in various court proceedings on economic loss, discrimination and other employment issues.
Dr. Cohen joined the Institute of Labor Industrial Relations at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1972, became the Director in 1980, and retired from the university in 1995. He worked for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (1967-68) and was Assistant to the Vice President of State Relations and Planning at the University of Michigan (1968-70). Dr. Cohen's teaching assignments since 1969 have been primarily in labor economics. He has also taught Human Resource Management and Statistics at the University of Minnesota. He has a PhD in Economics from MIT.
Dr. Malcolm Cohen's research interests include labor market information, labor turnover, employment forecasting and labor shortages. He has directed several major studies to identify national shortage occupations and measure labor turnover using administrative records. His most recent book, Global Skill Shortages, written with Professor Mahmood A. Zaidi, is published by Edward Elgar Publishing. He has had articles published in a large number of journals, including: Journal of Human Resources, Monthly Labor Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review Economic Statistics, Journal of Economic Theory and The American Economic Review.
