The Measurement of Overeducation and Undereducation: Self-Report vs. Job Analyst Method

This paper investigates the criterium validity of two different methods to determine the required educational level of an occupation. The selfreport method consists of asking employees directly what the required level of education for the job is. On the other hand, in the job-analyst method the determining of the required level of education for a particular job takes place by experts. Our analysis shows that, in essence, both methods measure the same concept (number of years of required education). However, they differ significantly with regard to the standard points, i.e. the points on the scale at which there is overeducation and undereducation. The analysis shows that the job-analyst method systematically overestimates the level of overeducation. There are no indications that the level of overeducation is underestimated in the self-report method.labour market entry;

Differential effects of colleges on the labour market success of their graduates

This paper explores the effects of colleges for higher vocational education on the labour market success of their graduates. Using data about the labour market position of Dutch graduates from higher vocational education, and applying multi-level statistical modelling techniques it is shown that for four domains (finding a job, level of job, monthly wages, and wages per hour) the colleges did hardly differ substantially. Most of the institutional variation occured at the department level within the colleges, but these department effects appeared to be small as well and not always very stable over the years. The discussion focuses on the implication for using labour market data for the construction of institutional performance indicators. It is shown that the ranking of colleges on their labour market performance changes as soon as input variables are controlled for. It is therefore important to look at the ‘net'' outcomes or ‘added value'' rather than the ‘gross'' outcomes.labour market entry;