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Overeducation, Regional Labour Markets and Spatial Flexibility

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Author Info
Büchel, Felix () (Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, DIW Berlin, Technical University of Berlin and IZA, Bonn)
van Ham, Maarten (Urban Research Centre Utrecht and Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Utrecht University)

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Abstract

For most workers, access to suitable employment is severely restricted by the fact that they look for jobs in the regional labour market rather than the global one. In this paper we analyse how macro-level opportunities (regional labour market characteristics) and micro-level restrictions (the extent to which job searchers are restricted to the regional labour market) can help to explain the phenomenon of overeducation. For the purposes of this project we obtained special permission to link regional data supplied by the German Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning to data provided by the respondents in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), based on their region of residence. The use of multilevel models made it possible to combine both individual and regional characteristics in the same models. In addition, we used the Heckman two-step procedure to control for selective access to employment. The results show that the size of the labour market is an important factor in avoiding overeducation: looking for a job on a large labour market increases the probability of finding a suitable job. Access to a car for personal use and a longer commuting time reduce the risk of working in a job for which one is overeducated.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 424.

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Length: 15 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2002
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp424

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Related research
Keywords: Overeducation; regional labour markets; spatial flexibility; multilevel models;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Heckman, James J, 1979. "Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(1), pages 153-61, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Rouwendal, Jan, 1999. "Spatial job search and commuting distances," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 491-517, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Hey, John D & McKenna, Chris J, 1979. "To Move or Not to Move?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 46(182), pages 175-85, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Maarten van Ham & Pieter Hooimeijer & Clara H. Mulder, 2001. "Urban Form and Job Access: Disparate Realities in the Randstad," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 92(2), pages 231-246, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Frank, Robert H, 1978. "Why Women Earn Less: The Theory and Estimation of Differential Overqualification," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(3), pages 360-73, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. McGoldrick, KimMarie & Robst, John, 1996. "Gender Differences in Overeducation: A Test of the Theory of Differential Overqualification," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 280-84, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Maarten van Ham & Clara H Mulder & Pieter Hooimeijer, 2001. "Spatial flexibility in job mobility: macrolevel opportunities and microlevel restrictions," Environment and Planning A, Pion Ltd, London, vol. 33(5), pages 921-940, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Maud Hensen & Robert de Vries, 2004. "The relationship between geographical mobility and education-job mismatches," ERSA conference papers ersa04p158, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  2. D. Verhaest & E. Omey, 2009. "The Determinants of Overeducation: Different Measures, Different Outcomes?," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 09/592, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. [Downloadable!]
  3. Javier Escobal & Sonia Laszlo, 2005. "Measurement Error in Access to Markets," Development and Comp Systems 0503008, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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