Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Business economics - Personnel and Organisation, grade: 2.4 (B), University of Manchester (Manchester School of Management), 43 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: How and to what extend do labour systems in general, and wage-setting mechanisms in particular, differ amongst the three biggest economies of the world, namely Japan, Germany, and the United States? Does the trend towards increasing trade liberation lead to pressure to harmonise different wage-setting systems? If so, what is the evidence for convergence?1 What impact could this have on the future of the labour systems of the so-called less flexible countries?