Overeducation in the early career of secondary education graduates : an analysis using sequence techniques

Based on monthly observations of their labour market status in the first seven years after leaving education, this paper uses optimal matching sequence analysis to construct a typology of entry-patterns of Flemish secondary education graduates. Our main finding is that for a significant number of young people overeducation constitutes a persistent problem, affecting about half of the sample for nearly the full observation period. Investigating the risk factors involved, we find that some factors, such as having lower human capital endowments or facing job search constraints, enhance the risk of following disadvantageous trajectories. Having a lower reservation wage seems to make being persistently overeducated more likely. Yet, starting as ‘overeducated’ does not necessarily lead to being stuck in that state for the rest of the career. About 7% of our sample succeeds in entering an adequate position even after being overeducated for a relatively long period

Overeducation and job satisfaction: the role of job demands and control

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate how job demands and control contribute to the relationship between overeducation and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach - The analysis is based on data for Belgian young workers up to the age of 26. The authors execute regression analyses, with autonomy, quantitative demands and job satisfaction as dependent variables. The authors account for unobserved individual heterogeneity by means of panel-data techniques. Findings - The results reveal a significant role of demands and control for the relationship between overeducation and job satisfaction. At career start, overeducated workers have less control than adequately educated individuals with similar skills levels, but more control than adequately educated employees doing similar work. Moreover, their control increases faster over the career than that of adequately educated workers with a similar educational background. Finally, demands have less adverse effects on satisfaction for high-skilled workers, irrespective of their match, while control moderates the negative satisfaction effect of overeducation. Research limitations/implications - Future research should look beyond the early career and focus on other potential compensation mechanisms for overeducation. Also the role of underlying mechanisms, such as job crafting, deserves more attention. Practical implications - The results suggest that providing more autonomy is an effective strategy to avoid job dissatisfaction among overeducated workers. Originality/value - The study connects two areas of research, namely, that on overeducation and its consequences and that on the role of job demands and control for workers' well-being. The results contribute to a better understanding why overeducation persists. Moreover, they are consistent with the hypothesis that employers hire overeducated workers because they require less monitoring and are more able to cope with demands, although more direct evidence on this is needed

Discriminating between alternative measures of overeducation

Five overeducation measures are evaluated empirically on the basis of encompassing tests. The measures are based on job analysis (JA), worker-assessment of the required level to do the job (WAd), worker-assessment of the required level to get the job (WAg), the mean educational level of realized matches (RMmn), and the modal level of realized matches (RMml). Over- and undereducation are linked to wages, job satisfaction, mobility and training participation. For none of the outcome variables, the JA model is encompassed by another model. Given the risk on systematic errors, this is a sufficient condition to prefer a carefully conducted JA to any other measure. The most reliable solution is to use the JA measure as an instrument for the WAd measure

Subsidized Household Services and Informal Employment: The Belgian Service Voucher Policy

Labour markets for personal and household services (PHS) are rife with informal employment. Some policies aim to combat informality in PHS with subsidized service vouchers, but their effects are poorly documented. This contribution evaluates the Belgian service vouchers (1) documenting their formalization effectiveness, and (2) accounting for the persistence of informal employment. To this end, we exploit several types of data and methods. A first analysis, based on Eurobarometer data, brings in evidence that informal PHS purchased were approximately halved under the policy introduced in 2001. Second, a discrete choice experiment shows that households prefer formal employment, including those that currently employ informally. Third, a survey in the Brussels metropolitan area shows that the persistence of informal employment lies in the relationship of informal employers with their domestic, from whom they are not willing to part. They nevertheless intend to switch to formal employment in the case of turnover. One thus expects partially delayed effects of formalization policies in general, and of the service voucher system in particular. Overall, these results are in line with Portes' claim that informality is facilitated by strong social relationships, and by differences in price and transaction costs

Spatial mismatch, education and language skills in the Brussels metropolis : an analysis = Mauvais appariement spatial, niveau de scolarité et connaissances linguistiques dans la métropole bruxelloise : une analyse = Ruimtelijke mismatch, scholing en talenkennis in de Brusselse metropool : een analyse

Spatial mismatch, where job seekers do not live where jobs can be found, can be an important barrier on the labour market, especially for vulnerable groups. In this study we look at the role that spatial mismatch plays in the Brussels metropolis. Using an improved benchmark, the distance-weighted spatial mismatch index, that also considers location-driven mismatch, we compare the spatial mismatch between the high- and low-skilled labour market and the labour market for the low-skilled with and without language skills. In the largest possible definition of the Brussels metropolis, results show a spatial mismatch of up to 50 % larger for the low-skilled, in comparison with the high-skilled. For the low-skilled without language skills, the spatial mismatch is 115 % higher than for the low-skilled with language skills. This difference is mainly due to a relative surplus of low-skilled job seekers (without language skills) in the Brussels Capital Region and a relative shortage in the first belt of municipalities around the Region

De transitie van het initieel beroepsonderwijs naar de arbeidsmarkt met speciale aandacht voor de ongekwalificeerde onderwijsverlaters

Hoger instituut voor de Arbeid (HIVA) Afdeling Didactiek. Centrum voor Onderwijseffectiviteit en -evaluatie. Leuvens Instituut voor onderwijsonderzoek (LIVO)status: publishe