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Is the labor market vulnerability of less-educated men really about job competition? : New insights from the United States

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  • Gesthuizen, Maurice

    (Department of Sociology, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

  • Solga, Heike

    (WZB)

Abstract

"There are various reasons why less-educated men have higher risks of labor market vulnerability - risks such as being unemployed or, if employed, having only low socioeconomic status. The commonly used argument is that these higher risks result from increased job competition caused by an oversupply of higher educated workers, who displace the less-educated from their jobs. In addition to exploring this argument, we investigate the impact of less-educated men's cognitive skills, their social resources, and the (historically embedded) signaling value of not having educational credentials. We study this impact by using institutional and compositional variations across labor market entry cohorts in the United States. For our analyses, we use the data of the 1974-2008 US General Social Survey (GSS). They show that an oversupply of high-educated workers mainly increases the unemployment risks of the higher-educated themselves. In labor market entry cohorts where the negative selection on parental background of the group of less-educated is more pronounced, the less-educated run a relatively high risk of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Gesthuizen, Maurice & Solga, Heike, 2014. "Is the labor market vulnerability of less-educated men really about job competition? : New insights from the United States," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 47(3), pages 205-221.
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabjlr:v:47:i:3:p:205-221
    DOI: 10.1007/s12651-013-0131-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrew Weiss, 1995. "Human Capital vs. Signalling Explanations of Wages," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 133-154, Fall.
    2. Ganzeboom, H.B.G. & de Graaf, P.M. & Treiman, D.J. & de Leeuw, J., 1992. "A standard international socio-economic index of occupational status," WORC Paper 92.01.001/1, Tilburg University, Work and Organization Research Centre.
    3. Melissa Osborne & Herbert Gintis & Samuel Bowles, 2001. "The Determinants of Earnings: A Behavioral Approach," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1137-1176, December.
    4. Maurice Gesthuizen, 2009. "Job characteristics and voluntary mobility in The Netherlands," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(6), pages 549-566, September.
    5. Yona Rubinstein & James J. Heckman, 2001. "The Importance of Noncognitive Skills: Lessons from the GED Testing Program," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 145-149, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wydra-Somaggio, Gabriele, 2017. "Early termination of vocational training: dropout or stopout?," IAB-Discussion Paper 201703, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    2. Patzina, Alexander & Wydra-Somaggio, Gabriele, 2021. "Ausbildungsabbrüche und -unterbrechungen im Vergleich: Ohne Abschluss ist der Verdienst geringer und die Dauer der Beschäftigung kürzer (Vocational training dropout vs. vocational training interruptio," IAB-Kurzbericht 202118, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    USA ; beruflicher Status ; kognitive Fähigkeit ; Niedriglohn ; Niedrigqualifizierte ; Qualifikationsniveau ; soziale Faktoren ; soziales Netzwerk ; Statusinkonsistenz ; Arbeitskräfteangebot ; Arbeitslose ; Arbeitsmarktchancen ; Arbeitsmarktrisiko ; Wettbewerb ; 1974-2008;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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