Overeducation of Young Workers in Spain: How Much Does the First Job Matter? Social Indicators Research

This article contributes to recent overeducation literature on the impact of an initial education mismatch on workers’ future careers. Specifically, using the 2009 ad-hoc module of the Spanish Labour Force Survey, we quantify the differences in the probability of overeducation depending on the quality of individuals’ first match. To do this, we apply an extension of the recursive bivariate probit model, which allows potential endogeneity problems to be taken into account, as well as a dissimilar impact of the initial match for workers with different educational attainment. The results indicate that overeducation is a trap, since young workers who were mismatched in their first job are 40.2 percentage points more likely to be overeducated in a later one than those who were not. When decomposing this difference in two parts, one related to the pure effect of the initial mismatch and another one related to workers’ characteristics, we conclude that the pure effect is more important, and it depends on educational attainment.     

中国城镇劳动力市场中的过度教育——测量改进与收入效应

过度教育是否会造成收入惩罚?这是国际教育匹配领域长期争论的议题。本研究聚焦中国城镇劳动力市场,使用2003—2015年中国综合社会调查(CGSS)数据分析过度教育的收入效应,最终得到以下结论:第一,通过改进教育匹配的测量方法,发现我国城镇劳动力市场过度教育的发生比例约为35%。第二,通过线性回归发现过度教育会造成收入惩罚,并且这种收入惩罚持续存在。第三,将历年高考录取率和各省专业技术人员比例作为工具变量的分析,进一步证明了过度教育的收入惩罚效应。以上结论意味着,通过宏观政策促进教育和职业匹配,对于实现更加充分的劳动力就业具有重要现实意义。     

Educational Mismatch of Graduates: a Multidimensional and Fuzzy Indicator

In this paper we attempt to measure the educational mismatch, seen as a problem of overeducation, using a multidimensional and fuzzy methodology. Educational mismatch can be difficult to measure because many factors can converge to its definition and the traditional unidimensional indicators presented in literature can offer a restricted view of the problem. We discovered two dimensions that properly define overeducation. The first includes information regarding job satisfaction, the use of expertise and the coherence between study and work, but also the measure on which the traditional indicator is based and the second concern earning aspects. We then calculate a degree of membership to the set of overeducated workers using the defined dimensions. We believe that in this manner we can partially overcome the rigidity of the traditional measures. Our findings suggested that generally women have a degree of mismatch higher than men and the graduates in Pharmacy, Medicine and Engineering are the least overeducated in terms of the first dimension, even if in terms of the earnings dimension they have similar mismatches to the other fields of education. Self-employment and collaboration contracts reduce overeducation when the first dimension is considered; on the other hand, when the second dimension is taken into account graduates with collaboration contracts are the most mismatched out of those having a job. Additionally, university reform introduced in the academic year 2001–2002 in the Italian higher education system is shown as not contributing to a reduction of the overeducation phenomenon.     

The Impact of Overeducation and its Measurement

The central focus of this article is the influence of the applied measure when the impact of overeducation is analyzed. For a database of Flemish school leavers, four alternative measures of overeducation are related to job satisfaction, mobility, training participation and wages. The magnitude and significance of the effects diverge between these measures. When attained education is controlled for, overeducated workers are less satisfied, more mobile, participate less in training and earn less than adequately educated workers. When required education is controlled for, no robust results are found for job satisfaction and training participation. Overeducated workers earn more than adequately educated colleagues, but have a higher turnover rate. We have little clear results with respect to undereducation. Caution is thus recommended for the interpretation of empirical results with respect to the impact of over- and undereducation.     

Small Fish in a Big Pond or Big Fish in a Small Pond? The Effects of Educational Mismatch on Subjective Wellbeing

This paper analyzes the effects of educational mismatch on subjective wellbeing. We first analyze whether a discrepancy exists between the aspirations associated with the level of education acquired by the individuals and the opportunities found in the labor market. Consistent with education generating certain aspirations, we find that educational mismatch has a sizable significant negative impact on life satisfaction for over-educated individuals while the effect is positive for under-educated workers. Next, we focus on workers with different educational levels but who perform similar jobs. In this case we only find under-education to negatively affect life satisfaction levels, a result which is consistent either with the existence of an inferiority complex or a struggle to perform a job for which the individual is not adequately trained. The effects are economically relevant and amount between one-fifth and one-fourth of the impact produced by other negative life events such as unemployment.     

Does Human Capital Raise Earnings for Immigrants in the Low-Skill Labor Market?

We use monthly Survey of Income and Program Participation data from 1996–1999 and 2001–2003 to estimate the determinants of differentiation in intercepts and slopes for age/earnings profiles of low-skill immigrant and native male workers. Our findings provide further depth of understanding to the“mixed” picture of earnings determination in the low-skill labor market that has been reported by others. On the positive side, many immigrants are employed in similar occupations and industries as natives. Both groups show substantial wage gains over time and generally receive similar returns to years of schooling completed. Immigrants also receive substantial returns to acculturation, measured as age at arrival and English language skill. These results cast doubt on the strong version of segmented labor market theory, in which low-skill immigrants are permanently consigned to dead-end jobs with no wage appreciation. On the negative side, immigrants earn approximately 24% less than natives and are less likely to occupy supervisory and managerial jobs. Latino immigrants receive lower returns to education than do white immigrants. Furthermore, age at arrival and language ability do not explain the lower returns to education experienced by Latino immigrants. These results suggest that Latino immigrants in particular may suffer from barriers to mobility and/or wage discrimination. Whether these negative labor market experiences occur primarily for illegal immigrants remains unknown.     

教育不平等与外来工工资的民族差异——兼论少数民族外来工教育获得的“三重弱势”

外来工工资收入的民族差异一直没有引起学术界的充分关注。2010年珠三角和长三角外来工问卷调查显示,少数民族外来工月平均工资为1636．16元,比汉族低约300元,差距显著。Oaxaca—Blinder模型分解表明,个人特征、企业特征、来源地等变量共解释了少数民族外来工与汉族外来工资差异的58．9％,其中主要来自于前劳动力市场阶段的教育不平等。导致少数民族外来工教育落后的原因是他们主要来自西部农村地区,当地经济发展水平和教育投入水平相对落后,而少数民族的语言和风俗习惯也影响到少数民族外来工的教育成就。     

Brain drain and technological relationship between skilled and unskilled labor: brain gain or brain loss?

This study analyzes the effect of an increase in the foreign skilled wage rate on the emigration and education decisions of individuals in the home economy. An increase in the foreign skilled wage rate encourages emigration of skilled workers out of the home country, while possible increase in the supply of skilled labor in the home depends on the technological relationship between skilled and unskilled labor in production. Although the average education level will rise when they are complements, the average education level may not necessarily be raised when they are substitutes.     

流动人口的人力资本禀赋效应及其代际差异

招工难、找工难的现象隐藏着一个重要的经济心理学效应--禀赋效应,即个体出让某物品估价高于得到此物品愿意支付价格的现象。调查结果显示,70%的被访者存在人力资本禀赋效应,他们对自己所拥有的受教育程度应得到的收入估价是对同等受教育程度的劳动力的购买价格的2.9倍。人口学、社会和经济特征对于是否会产生人力资本禀赋效应有显著的影响作用,而禀赋效应的强弱主要受到就业身份的影响。雇员愿意出让价格大大高于雇主愿意购买价格就会出现交易困难,导致"招工难、找工难"的现象出现。事实上,雇员月工资与雇主愿意购买价格非常接近,雇员只能被迫降低愿意出让价格,以适应社会,摆脱"找工难"的困境。第一代流动人口比第二代流动人口的人力资本禀赋效应感更强。与第一代相比较,第二代流动人口中的雇员所期望的薪金更接近于雇主所愿意购买的价格。     

Informal search,bad search?: the effects of job search method on wages among rural migrants in urban China

The use of informal job search method is prevalent in many countries. There is, however, no consensus in the literature on whether it actually matters for wages, and if it does, what are the underlying mechanisms. We empirically examine these issues specifically for rural migrants in urban China, a country where one of the largest domestic migration in human history has occurred over the past decades. We find that there exists a significant wage penalty for those migrant workers who have conducted their search through informal channels, despite their popularity. Our further analysis suggests two potential reasons for the wage penalty: (1) the informal job search sends a negative signal (of workers’ inability to successfully find a job in a competitive market) to potential employers, resulting in lower wages, and (2) there exists a trade-off between wages and search efficiency for quicker entry into local labor market. We also find some evidence that the informal job search may lead to low-skilled jobs with lower wages. We do not find strong evidence supporting alternative explanations.     

Wage dynamics and promotions inside and between firms

We focus on the dynamic relation between wage increases, promotions and job changes. In the empirical analyses, we use the Portuguese-matched employer–employee data Quadros de Pessoal. We find substantial wage returns to both promotions and job-to-job transitions. Our results are not consistent with models of full information and symmetric learning in a competitive and frictionless market. This might suggest that there is asymmetric information. An alternative explanation is that workers might search for a good match. Finally, we show that employer-reported promotions differ to a large extent from changes in hierarchical levels.     

Child care workers' wages: New evidence on returns to education, experience, job tenure and auspice

Child care workers receive low hourly pay, modest returns to education, experience and job tenure, and have high rates of turnover. These stylized facts have caused analysts to characterize child care workers as secondary labour market participants. We use Canadian data to challenge this characterization and to examine the disputed effects of auspice (non-profit vs. for-profit status) on wages. In contrast to Mocan and Viola (1997), improved controls for the differential availability of resources and firm size do not make the positive wage effects experienced by workers in non-profit day care centres disappear. Received: 7 February 2000/Accepted: 1 August 2001     

Explaining levels of within-group wage inequality in U.S. labor markets

Most research on earnings inequality has focused on the growing gap between workers of different races and at different education, age, and income levels, but a large portion of the increasing inequality has actually occurred within these groups. This article focuses on the extent and sources of "within-group" wage inequality in more than 500 labor markets in the United States in 1990. In addition to documenting that within-group wage inequality across regions varies more widely today than over the past several decades, the analysis reveals that two frequently cited explanations of rising wage inequality over time have little impact on within-group wage inequality when measured at the local labor market level: (1) industrial shifts and (2) increased technology and trade. By contrast, flexible and insecure employment conditions (e.g., unemployment, contingent work, and immigration) are associated strongly with high local levels of within-group wage inequality, especially among women.     

The impact of labor market entry conditions on initial job assignment and wages

We estimate the effects of labor market entry conditions on wages for male individuals first entering the Austrian labor market between 1978 and 2000. We find a large negative effect of unfavorable entry conditions on starting wages and a sizable negative long-run effect. Our preferred estimates imply a decrease in starting wages by about 0.9 % and a lifetime loss in wages of about 1.3 % for an increase in the initial local unemployment rate by one percentage point. We show that poor entry conditions are associated with lower quality of a worker’s first employer and that the quality of workers’ first employer explains as much as three-quarters of the observed long-run wage effects resulting from poor entry conditions. Moreover, wage effects are much more persistent for blue-collar workers because some of them appear to be permanently locked in into low-paying jobs/tasks.     

Is Local Social Development Associated with Workforce Composition? A Municipal Analysis of Mexico, 1990–2015

A critical development goal involves reducing subsistence farming and encouraging entrepreneurship and formal sector employment. A growing number of studies examine cross-national variation in the rates of subsistence farming, marginal self-employment, formal employment, and prosperous entrepreneurship by level of development. However, despite significant regional disparities in development within most low-to-middle-income countries, little is known about how development at the local level is associated with labor market patterns. Using a pooled cross section containing four waves of data from the Mexican Census (1990–2015), this study investigates the relationship between social development and municipal workforce composition. In the 1980s, Mexico initiated an ambitious and multipronged development agenda intended to reduce extreme regional disparities in educational attainment, housing quality, access to utilities, and poverty. This study measures social development using a multi-dimensional measure that captures educational attainment, housing quality, access to utilities, and poverty. Laborers are separated into employed, own-account workers, and employers, with each category divided into agricultural and non-agricultural. In a second set of analyses, non-agricultural own-account workers are categorized as high and low growth potential and non-agricultural wage workers are separated into informal and formal sector. Results from fixed effects regression models indicate that local development significantly reduces the rate of own-account agricultural work and increases non-agricultural wage labor and employer self-employment. As less developed areas advance, the largest initial increase in non-agricultural work is in the informal sector. But, in more developed communities, social development increasingly predicts growth in formal sector employment and more selective entry into non-agricultural own-account work. The findings suggest that investment in community-level social development has the potential to reduce subsistence self-employment, encourage formal sector work, and promote entrepreneurship. Yet, the greatest gains occur in communities that already have mid to high levels of social development.     

Education Expansion, Educational Inequality, and Income Inequality: Evidence from Taiwan, 1976–2003

The expansion of higher education in Taiwan starting from the late 1980s has successfully raised the average level of education. Using the concept of the education Gini, we find that the educational inequality declined as average schooling rose during the period of 1976–2003. The impacts of a rising average schooling and a declining educational inequality are also tested empirically in this paper. The evidence supports that a higher level of average schooling will generate a lower income inequality. On the other hand, a lower educational inequality, as measured by education Gini coefficient, will also cause a lower income inequality. Skill-biased technological change that shifts the labor demand from unskilled workers toward skilled workers is the most likely cause for the rising income inequality in Taiwan. However, the trend of rising income inequality could be reversed due to possible future over-education and unemployment in the labor market.     

工作转换对农民工职业流动的影响效应

农民工就业流动频繁已经成为当前劳动力市场的普遍现象和重要特征,而工作转换能否带来农民工职业向上流动,实现职业地位提升？文章采用RUMIC面板数据,进一步估计工作转换对农民工职业流动方向的影响。结果发现：工作转换对职业流动产生显著负效应,工作转换导致农民工职业向下流动,职业流动没有呈现“U”型特征,但存在一定的跨期效应,重新定义工作转换进行稳健性检验仍然支持这一结论。而从根本上消除劳动力市场的制度壁垒,强化农民工职业技能培训,无疑是未来劳动力市场政策调整的主要方向。     

The intergenerational transmission of noncognitive skills and their effect on education and employment outcomes

We use information on second-generation migrants to study the existence of a cultural component on the formation process of noncognitive skills and its effect on education and employment outcomes. Our measures of noncognitive skills include: personality traits that children are encouraged to learn at home and inherited civic capital. Individuals whose cultural heritage places a relatively higher value to independence and, in comparison, a relative lower value on child qualities positively associated with the conscientiousness personality factor, i.e. hard work and thrift, report lower education, worse occupational status and lower wages on average. Individuals with a higher inherited civic capital declare a higher educational level, but we find no effect of inherited civic capital on adult labor market outcomes.     

人力资本投资与中国农业劳动力的转移

当前中国农业劳动力的转移存在许多问题：转移不足;转移的组织方式低级化;转移巩固率低;转移产业层次低;转移前后的比较收益不高;转移的社会负面效应突出。而人力资本存量少,农民素质低是产生以上问题的关键性因素。为促进农业劳动力的良性转移应采取如下措施：１．继续严格控制农村人口数量,提高人口素质;２．合理调整农村教育结构,积极发展农村职业技术教育;３．以素质教育为目标,拓宽教育途径,改革教学内容;４．提高农村教师素质;５．建立和完善人力资本投资收益机制;６．建立健全农村人力资本投资市场。     

Forward and backward, horizontal and vertical: Transformation of occupational credentialing in the schooled society

Underdeveloped theory about educational credentialing flies in the face of the immense practice of educational degree attainment by ever increasing proportions of each new generation, and the ensuing pervasive belief in the power of degrees to both allocate individuals in the labor market and to serve as job requirements throughout the occupational structure. Considering educational credentialing at the center of the educational revolution in postindustrial society, a new theoretical argument is developed from the premise that education as an institution provides the logic by which educational credentialing becomes evermore legitimate, more so than from forces outside the institution itself such as the economy and labor market demand. In support of the proposed theory of credentialing, multiple sets of new findings about education, occupations, and work show that the common negative notion of run-away educational credentialism does not fit empirical trends. Second, as a function of widely held beliefs about education in postindustrial society, four institutional processes by which educational credentialing has deeply integrated into the occupational structure are described and illustrated with empirical observations and analyses. Lastly, consequences of the rapid and robust educational transformation of occupational credentialing for future sociological inquiry into social stratification and mobility are discussed.