Chasing graduate jobs?

This paper examines empirically the relationship between under-employment and migration amongst five cohorts of graduates of Scottish higher education institutions with micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency. The data indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between migration and graduate employment—those graduates who move after graduation from Scotland to the rest of the UK or abroad have a much higher rate of graduate employment. Versions of probit regression are used to estimate migration and graduate employment equations in order to explore the nature of this relationship further. These equations confirm that there is a strong positive relationship between the probability of migrating and the probability of being in graduate employment even after other factors are controlled for. Instrumental variables estimation is used to examine the causal nature of the relationship by attempting to deal with the potential endogeneity of migration decisions. Overall the analysis is consistent with the hypotheses that a sizeable fraction of higher education graduates are leaving Scotland for employment reasons. In turn this finding suggests the over-education/under-employment nexus is a serious problem in Scotland

Devolved immigration policy : will it work in Scotland?

In February 2005, the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke outlined a “five year plan” aimed at changing fundamentally the way immigration to the United Kingdom is managed. What does this new system mean for Scotland, a country with a government committed to maintaining historical high levels of net-migration

Chasing Graduate Jobs?

This paper examines empirically the relationship between under-employment and migration amongst five cohorts of graduates of Scottish higher education institutions with micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency. The data indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between migration and graduate employment—those graduates who move after graduation from Scotland to the rest of the UK or abroad have a much higher rate of graduate employment. Versions of probit regression are used to estimate migration and graduate employment equations in order to explore the nature of this relationship further. These equations confirm that there is a strong positive relationship between the probability of migrating and the probability of being in graduate employment even after other factors are controlled for. Instrumental variables estimation is used to examine the causal nature of the relationship by attempting to deal with the potential endogeneity of migration decisions. Overall the analysis is consistent with the hypotheses that a sizeable fraction of higher education graduates are leaving Scotland for employment reasons. In turn this finding suggests the over-education/under-employment nexus is a serious problem in Scotland.Scotland, under-employment, over-education, higher education graduates

Is Graduate Under-employment Persistent? Evidence from the United Kingdom

This paper examines the persistence of under-employment amongst UK higher education graduates. For the cohort of individuals who graduated in 2002/3, micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency, are used to calculate the rates of "non-graduate job" employment 6 months and 42 months after graduation. A logit regression analysis suggests the underemployment is not a short-term phenomenon and is systematically related to a set of observable characteristics. It is also found that under-employment 6 months after graduation is positively related to under-employment 42 months after graduation, which is consistent with the view that the nature of the first job after graduation is important in terms of occupational attainment later in the life-cycle.graduates, under-employment, over-education, persistence, United Kingdom

Chasing Graduate Jobs?

This paper examines empirically the relationship between under-employment and migration amongst five cohorts of graduates of Scottish higher education institutions with micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency. The data indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between migration and graduate employment – those graduates who move after graduation from Scotland to the rest of the UK or abroad have a much higher rate of graduate employment. Versions of probit regression are used to estimate migration and graduate employment equations in order to explore the nature of this relationship further. These equations confirm that there is a strong positive relationship between the probability of migrating and the probability of being in graduate employment even after other factors are controlled for. Instrumental variables estimation is used to examine the causal nature of the relationship by attempting to deal with the potential endogeneity of migration decisions. Overall the analysis is consistent with the hypotheses that a sizeable fraction of higher education graduates are leaving Scotland for employment reasons. In turn this finding suggests the over-education/under-employment nexus is a serious problem in Scotland.Scotland, under-employment, over-education, higher education graduates

Is Graduate Under-employment Persistent? Evidence from the United Kingdom

This paper examines the persistence of under-employment amongst UK higher education graduates. For the cohort of individuals who graduated in 2002/3, micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency, are used to calculate the rates of “non-graduate job†employment 6 months and 42 months after graduation. A logit regression analysis suggests the underemployment is not a short-term phenomenon and is systematically related to a set of observable characteristics. It is also found that under-employment 6 months after graduation is positively related to under-employment 42 months after graduation, which is consistent with the view that the nature of the first job after graduation is important in terms of occupational attainment later in the life-cycle.graduates, under-employment, over-education, persistence, United Kingdom

Should Coal Replace Coal? Options for the Irish Electricity Market. ESRI WP428. March 2012

I use data from the first wave of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) to investigate the impact of obesity on the labour market status of older Irish individuals. I employ an anthropometric indicator of body composition (waist circumference) along with body mass index. I include a wide array of subjective and objective health indicators in the empirical model. I find that obese women are less likely to be at work. However, both the magnitude and statistical significance of this correlation are sensitive to the definition of obesity. Factors other than socioeconomic characteristics and health are also found to play a role in explaining why obese older women are less likely to be employed. Much weaker evidence is found for men

Obesity and employment in Ireland: moving beyond BMI. ESRI working paper, no. 431, March 2012

I use data from the first wave of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) to investigate the impact of obesity on the labour market status of older Irish individuals. I employ an anthropometric indicator of body composition (waist circumference) along with body mass index. I include a wide array of subjective and objective health indicators in the empirical model. I find that obese women are less likely to be at work. However, both the magnitude and statistical significance of this correlation are sensitive to the definition of obesity. Factors other than socioeconomic characteristics and health are also found to play a role in explaining why obese older women are less likely to be employed. Much weaker evidence is found for men

Learning more about the causes and consequences of migration through the experiences of Ireland’s older people. ESRI Research Bulletin 2013/2/2

The resumption of population outflows from Ireland since 2010 has regenerated an interest in the effect that migration can have on individuals. Data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) provide a unique way of studying this issue. The TILDA data contain a representative sample of people aged 50 and over and living in Ireland. The first wave of data was collected between late 2009 and early 2011. Information on over 8,000 people was collected, covering topics such as health, wellbeing and economic circumstances

The Impact of Voluntary and Involuntary Retirement on Mental Health: Evidence from Older Irish Adults

The few studies that have attempted to identify the causal effects of retirement on mental health and well-being have provided conflicting evidence. Hence, whether retirement affects mental health positively or negatively is still unclear. Our primary objective is to investigate the impact of retirement on mental health as measured by the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). We use data from the first two waves of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). This is a nationally representative sample of individuals aged 50 and over and living in Ireland. To deal with possible endogeneity problems, we use first-differenced estimation models and control for a broad range of life events occurring between the two waves. These include transition to retirement but also demographic, social, economic and physical health events. As part of the TILDA survey, reasons for retirement are asked. We exploit this information and distinguish between individuals who retired voluntarily, involuntarily or because of own ill health. We find that involuntary, or forced, retirement has a negative and statistically significant effect on mental health. In contrast, we find no effects for voluntary retirement. We also find that retirement due to ill health is negatively associated with mental health