Entrepreneurial skills and over-education five years later. A comparison between Spain and the Netherlands

[cat] El fenòmen de la sobre-educació és freqüent i persistent a molts països. En aquest article estudiem el paper de les habilitats emprenedores en evitar la sobre-educació a la primera feina, i en sortir d’una situació de sobre-educació cinc anys després. Comparem els resultats d’Espanya i Holanda, dos països que difereixen en el seu sistema educatiu i mercat de treball. Els resultats mostren que les habilitats emprenedores ajuden a evitar i/o sortir de la sobre-educació només a Espanya, on el sistema educatiu és més flexible i menys vinculat amb el mercat de treball. En general, els nostres resultats recolzen les polítiques que promocionen el desenvolupament d’habilitats emprenedores al sistema educatiu espanyol.[eng] Over-education has been demonstrated to be frequent and persistent across countries. We study whether entrepreneurial skills are a competency that helps tertiary education graduates to obtain a good job match. We analyze two possibilities: the role of entrepreneurial skills in avoiding over-education in the first job, and in exiting over-education in their early career. We do the analysis for Spain and the Netherlands, two countries that differ significantly in the degree of tracking in their educational system and the education-labor market linkages. We find that entrepreneurial skills help avoiding over-education in the first job and exiting from over-education only in Spain. Entrepreneurial skills do not seem to affect the probability of over-education in the Netherlands, where the education system is less flexible. Overall, our results give support to those policies promoting the development of entrepreneurial skills in the Spanish education system

Who becomes an entrepreneur? The role of ability, education, and sector choice

The classical occupational choice model does not explain the simultaneous existence of low and high ability entrepreneurs. In this paper, we study the decision to become an entrepreneur when individuals choose their education level and the economic sector where to operate. We distinguish two sectors: the knowledge and the traditional sector. The knowledge sector requires individuals to invest in education. Under this framework, two results are possible: one where only high ability individuals become entrepreneurs, and one with the coexistence of low and high ability entrepreneurs. This framework provides a rational explanation of the relationship between ability, education, and self-employment. Using PIAAC data, we test the empirical implications of the model. We find that most countries have an equilibrium with low and high ability entrepreneurs

Three essays on over-education and labor market

Esta tesis estudia la sobre-educación en el mercado de trabajo en España y el Reino Unido. Utilizando la base de datos Labor Force Survey primero se investiga si la sobre-educación tiene una influencia significativa sobre el tipo de contrato (indefinido/temporal) en España. Los resultados demuestran que los trabajadores jóvenes sobre-educados en España tienen menor probabilidad de obtener un contrato indefinido que los jóvenes con educación adecuada al puesto de trabajo. En el siguiente capítulo, estudiamos la probabilidad de obtener formación por los trabajadores sobre-educados en España. Los resultados demuestran que estos trabajadores tienen menor probabilidad de participar en formación relacionada con el trabajo que sus compañeros con nivel de educación adecuado al puesto de trabajo. Además, los trabajadores sobre-educados obtendrían mayor formación si tuvieran un trabajo adecuado a su educación. Finalmente, investigamos si los métodos de búsqueda de trabajo afectan distintamente la probabilidad de estar sobre-educado para los graduados de campos "soft" vs. "hard" en el Reino Unido. El análisis revela que los graduados en campos "hard" pierden comparativamente a los graduados en campos "soft" si usan cualquier método de búsqueda que no sea contactos personales.This thesis studies over-education in the labor market in Spain and the UK. Resorting to the Labor Force Survey it is first researched whether over-education has significant influence on contract permanency in Spain. Controlling for endogeneity it is demonstrated that young over-educated workers in Spain are less likely to hold a permanent contract than matched young workers. In the next chapter we study the likelihood of obtaining training by over-educated workers in Spain. Results show that over-educated workers are less likely to participate in job-related training than their matched peers in the same jobs. Moreover over-educated workers would be more likely to obtain training if they got matched. Finally in the fourth chapter we investigate if job search methods affect differently the likelihood of being over-educated of graduates of soft vs. hard fields of study in the UK. The analysis reveals that hard fields graduates lose comparatively to soft fields by using any other method of job search than personal contact

Why do university graduates regret their study program? A comparison between Spain and the Netherlands [WP]

[cat] En aquest article investiguem els factors que porten a universitaris espanyols i holandesos a lamentar els estudis cursats. Espanya i Holanda tenen un sistema educatiu molt diferent en termes de la rigidesa de l’educació secundària i el vincle entre l’educació i el mercat laboral. Comparant Espanya i Holanda ens permet aprendre sobre les conseqüències de dos sistemes educatius molt diferenciats a la probabilitat de lamentar els estudis cursats. Basant-nos en la literatura psicològica sobre l’arrepentiment/lamentació, derivem unes hipòtesis de partida que contrastem empíricament. Els resultats mostren que tant la rigidesa de l’educació secundària com el desajustament entre educació i ocupació són factors importants per explicar la lamentació dels estudis universitaris cursats. L’article conclou amb recomenacions sobre el sistema educatiu universitari.[eng] In this paper we investigate the determinants of regret of study program for university graduates in Spain and the Netherlands. These two countries differ in their educational system in terms of their educational tracking in secondary education level and the strength of their education-labor market linkages in tertiary education. Therefore, by comparing Spain and the Netherlands, we aim at learning about the consequences that the two educational systems might have on university program regret. Basing on the psychological literature on regret, we derive some expectations on the determinants of regret of study program. Results reveal that, both education track and education-labor mismatch of tertiary education, are important determinants of the likelihood of program regret. Results allow us to derive some policy recommendations on the tertiary education system

Graduate labor mismatch in Central and Eastern Europe [WP]

[cat] Utilitzant l’enquesta REFLEX/HEGESCO, aquest article explora la probabilitat de desajustament entre educació i treball a l’Europa de l’Est i Central. Classifiquem els països en dos grups segons la transparència dels títols educatius al mercat de treball. Polònia, la República Txeca i Eslovènia formen el grup amb més transparència, i Hongria, Lituània i Estònia formen el grup amb més opacitat. Analitzem tres tipus de desajustaments: el vertical (infra‐, sobre‐educació), l’horitzontal (desajustament del camp d’estudi) i el desajust en habilitats. Focalitzem l’anàlisi en l’efecte dels camps d’estudi i les competències dels individus en el desajustament del mercat laboral en aquests països. Els resultats mostren importants diferències entre els dos grups de països estudiats.[eng] Using cross‐section data from the REFLEX/HEGESCO surveys, this paper explores the likelihood of education‐job mismatch in Central and Eastern Europe. We classify countries in two groups according to the signaling strength of their educational credentials: the occupational labor market group (Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia) and the internal labor market group (Hungary, Lithuania and Estonia). We analyze three types of mismatch: the vertical mismatch (under‐/over‐education), horizontal mismatch (inadequacy of the field of study) and, finally, skills mismatch. We are particularly interested in studying how fields of study and individual competencies affect mismatch in the labor market in these economies. Results indicate that fields of study and individual competencies both significantly affect the likelihood of various types of mismatch. There are important differences between occupational and internal labor market structures in terms of mismatch determinants

The Sociology of educational mismatch

This paper studies the theoretical relationships between core research lines of sociology such as intergenerational mobility, class structure, cultural capital and educational mismatches. By educational mismatch we mean two things. Firstly an individual can be horizontally mismatched whereby their field of study is inadequate for the job. Another direction of educational mismatch is the so called vertical mismatch where worker possesses more/less education than the job requires resulting in over-/under-education. While analyzing the educational mismatches I keep present the conclusions of Rational Action Theory on individuals’ rational choices in their educational careers. I arrive to conclusions where the influences between educational mismatches and social classes are bidirectional and one can establish fairly clear theoretical links between class of origins and likelihood of being educationally mismatched

University program characteristics and education-job mismatch

Over-education has been demonstrated to be frequent and persistent across countries. It often goes together with working in a job not related to the field of study (horizontal mismatch) or in a job that requires lower skills than acquired (skill mismatch). We study which program characteristics help university graduates to obtain a good job match. We do the analysis for Spain since the presence of over-education is strong in this country. We analyze the three types of mismatch: over-education, horizontal mismatch, and over-skills. We focus on the role of program characteristics in avoiding over-education in the first job after graduation, and in exiting over-education in the early career. We find that those programs that are academically prestigious and those that promote entrepreneurial skills help avoid being mismatched in the first job and, in case of being mismatched in the first job, they help exit this situation. Overall, our results give support to policies promoting the development of entrepreneurial skills in the Spanish education system