This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Overeducation in the Australian Labour Market: Its Incidence and Effects

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Ingrid Linsley
Abstract

Overeducation is a form of labour underutilisation which occurs when the formal education level of a worker exceeds that which is required for the job. It is a form of underemployment that imposes significant costs on individuals and economies. Using data from the Negotiating the Life Course survey this study determines the incidence and effects of overeducation in the Australian labour market. This study found that 27.1 per cent of individuals are overeducated, and the incidence is higher among those who are young, have preschool-aged children, work in large firms and have fewer years of tenure. A positive relationship was also found between timerelated and skill-related underemployment. Overeducation is found to impose costs on individuals, reducing earnings by between 10 and 20 per cent and lowering job satisfaction.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.economics.unimelb.edu.au/SITE/research/workingpapers/wp05/939.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by The University of Melbourne in its series Department of Economics - Working Papers Series with number 939.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length: 30 pages
Date of creation: 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:mlb:wpaper:939

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Department of Economics, The University of Melbourne, 5th Floor, Economics and Commerce Building, Victoria, 3010, Australia
Phone: +61 3 8344 5289
Fax: +61 3 8344 6899
Email:
Web page: http://www.economics.unimelb.edu.au
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Colemann Leong).

Related research
Keywords: Overeducation labour market education earnings

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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. Sloane, P J & Battu, H & Seaman, P T, 1996. "Overeducation and the Formal Education/Experience and Training Trade-Off," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 3(8), pages 511-15, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Dolton, Peter & Vignoles, Anna, 2000. "The incidence and effects of overeducation in the U.K. graduate labour market," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 179-198, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Hartog, Joop, 2000. "Over-education and earnings: where are we, where should we go?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 131-147, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Felix Buchel & Harminder Battu, 2003. "The Theory of Differential Overqualification: Does it Work?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 50(1), pages 1-16, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Monojit Chatterji & Paul T. Seaman & Larry D. Singell Jr., 2003. "A test of the signalling hypothesis," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 55(2), pages 191-215, April.
  6. John Robst, 1995. "Career Mobility, Job Match, and Overeducation," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 21(4), pages 539-550, Fall. [Downloadable!]
  7. Duncan, Greg J. & Hoffman, Saul D., 1981. "The incidence and wage effects of overeducation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 75-86, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Mendes de Oliveira, M. & Santos, M. C. & Kiker, B. F., 2000. "The role of human capital and technological change in overeducation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 199-206, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. 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)
  10. Sloane, P J & Battu, H & Seaman, P T, 1999. "Overeducation, Undereducation and the British Labour Market," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 31(11), pages 1437-53, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Groot, Wim, 1996. "The Incidence of, and Returns to Overeducation in the U.K," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 28(10), pages 1345-50, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Borghans,L. & Grip,A.,de, 1999. "Skills and low pay: upgrading or overeducation?," Research Memoranda 005, Maastricht : ROA, Researchcentrum voor Onderwijs en Arbeidsmarkt. [Downloadable!]
  13. Battu, Harminder & Sloane, Peter J., 2002. "Overeducation and Ethnic Minorities in Britain," IZA Discussion Papers 650, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  14. Groot, Wim & Maassen van den Brink, Henriette, 2000. "Overeducation in the labor market: a meta-analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 149-158, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. 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)
  16. Sattinger, Michael, 1993. "Assignment Models of the Distribution of Earnings," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(2), pages 831-80, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Tsang, Mun C. & Levin, Henry M., 1985. "The economics of overeducation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 93-104, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Sicherman, Nachum, 1991. ""Overeducation" in the Labor Market," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(2), pages 101-22, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  19. Arnaud Chevalier, 2003. "Measuring Over-education," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 70(279), pages 509-531, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Spence, A Michael, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 87(3), pages 355-74, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

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. Seamus McGuinness & Mark Wooden, 2007. "Overskilling, Job Insecurity and Career Mobility: Evidence from Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2007n09, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
  2. Maite Blazquez & Silvio Rendon, 2006. "Over-Education in Multilingual Economies: Evidence from Catalonia," Working Papers 0607, Centro de Investigacion Economica, ITAM. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Ingrid Linsley, 2005. "Causes of Overeducation in the Australian Labour Market," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 940, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS was launched in September 1997.

This page was last updated on 2008-11-16.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.