The long-term economic and social impacts of the rise in levels of education on mechanisms of access to employment and on human resources management were examined in a comparative study of educational expansion and the labor markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, with special reference to the United States. Five teams of researchers collected and analyzed national data and synthesized the national studies' findings. Selected conclusions were as follows: (1) education systems must develop their own identities, taking into account the needs of European societies and economies; (2) defining education systems' place in society and creating their identity means striking a balance between managing the link between education's economic and other functions on the one hand and managing the needs and interests of the economy, employers, and individuals on the other hand; and (3) when determining how educational institutions should achieve this balance, policymakers must avoid being dependent on clients/companies governed by the market's temporary economic needs and managing education based on internal and/or academic inertia. (Thirteen tables/figures and 134 references are included. The following items are appended: information about the method used to compare national qualification nomenclatures; explanations of the observed variation, supply, demand, and simultaneous models of analysis; and a discussion of the evolution of qualifications structures among post-1970 generations.) (MN)