From: cjb@canopus.Stanford.EDU (Cecil Bloch)
Subject: Re: Why do Americans get so little vacation time?
Reply-To: cjb@vega.stanford.edu
Organization: DSO, Stanford University
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 19:35:30 GMT

The following tables are relevant to several recent threads in this  
newsgroup; they are copied from "We're Number One: Where America Stands -  
and Falls - in the New World Order" by Andrew L. Shapiro (New York:  
Vintage Books, 1992). The book is a fascinating and thought-provoking  
compendium of information and I can highly recommend it (I have no  
connection with either the author or the publisher).

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(p.11) "Duration of nationally provided paid maternity leave in weeks,  
1988:

COUNTRY          WEEKS      COUNTRY        WEEKS

United Kingdom     40       Germany         14
Finland            38       Ireland         14
Denmark            28       Japan           14
France          16-28       Spain           14
Italy              22       Netherlands     12
Norway             20       Sweden          12
Canada          17-18       Switzerland   8-12
Austria            16       United States    0
Belgium            14


(Source: International Labor Organization, "Work and Family: The Child  
Care Challenge", Conditions of Work Digest, vol.7, February 1988)"

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(p.99) "Percent of economically active population who are managers or  
administrative workers, 1989; and percentage average annual growth of  
labor productivity, in output per employee, 1979 to 1990:

COUNTRY         MANAGERS (%)    PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH (%)

United States     12.1           0.7
Australia         11.9           0.9
Canada            11.9           1.2
Austria            4.7           1.9
Japan              3.7           3.0
Netherlands        3.3           1.5
Denmark            3.0           2.1
Finland            3.0           3.6
Ireland            2.2            -
Spain              1.3           3.0


(Sources: International Labor Organization, Yearbook of Labor Statistics  
1989-90 (Geneva: ILO, 1990), pp.120-186; Organization for Economic  
Cooperation and Development, OECD Economic Outlook 50 (Paris: OECD, 1991),  
p.136)"

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(p.102) "Average remuneration of chief executive officers (CEOs), and CEO  
remuneration as a multiple of average manufacturing employee remuneration,  
1991:

COUNTRY         CEO SALARIES       RATIO: CEO
               (U.S. DOLLARS)      TO WORKER
		   
United States      $747,500           25
France              448,500           16
Switzerland         424,100           11
Italy               421,300           14
Canada              407,600           12
United Kingdom      399,600           16
Belgium             397,300           13
Spain               380,600           15
Japan               371,800           11
Germany             364,500           10
Sweden              335,600           10
Netherlands         297,900           10
Australia           271,300           14
Ireland             156,500            8


(Source: Worldwide Total Remuneration 1991 (Valhalla, N.Y.: Towers Perrin,  
1991), pp.12,22)"

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(p.103) "Paid vacation days per year, 1991:

COUNTRY       VACATION DAYS     COUNTRY       VACATION DAYS

Spain            32.0           Belgium           24.6
Netherlands      31.9           Italy             24.6
Norway           31.4           United Kingdom    24.5
Germany          29.9           Japan             24.0
Finland          28.6           Switzerland       23.4
Sweden           27.8           Ireland           22.9
France           27.0           Australia         22.4
Austria          26.8           Canada            14.7
Denmark          25.0           United States     10.8


(Source: Union Bank of Switzerland, Prices and Earnings Around the Globe,  
1991 (Zurich: UBS, 1991), p.8)"