"Overeducation is one of the most important mechanisms for labor market adjustment when there is an excess supply of high-skilled workers. However, there is much debate about the consequences of this phenomena and the short and long term effects for both the overeducated worker and the economy as a whole. This book contributes to our understanding of recent developments in the research on overeducation by providing a detailed overview of the pertinent theoretical and policy issues."

"This paper examines patterns in overeducation between countries using a specifically designed panel dataset constructed from the quarterly Labour Force Surveys of 28 EU countries over a twelve to fifteen year period. It is not the case that overeducation has been rising rapidly over time in all countries and where overeducation has grown the trend has been very gradual. Furthermore, overeducation rates were found to be static or falling in approximately fifty percent of the 28 EU countries. The evidence points towards convergence in overeducation at a rate of 3.3 percent per annum. In terms of the determinants of overeducation we find evidence to support policies aimed at improving effective female participation, labour market flexibility and the practical aspects of educational provision as a means of reducing the incidence of overeducation within countries."--Abstract.

The recent recession has led to an ongoing crisis in the youth labour market in Europe. This timely book deals with a number of areas related to the context, choices and experiences of young people, the consequences of which resonate throughout their lives. The focus of the contributions to this volume is on issues which, whilst undoubtedly important, have thus far received less attention than they arguably deserve. The first part of the book is concerned with issues related to education and training, covering matters such as the role of monopsony in training, the consequences of over-education, and the quality of educational institutions from primary to tertiary. The second part is primarily concerned with the long-term consequences of short-term choices and experiences including contributions on health-related choices, health consequences later in life, factors affecting the home-leaving decision, as well as an analysis of the increasing intergenerational transmission of inequality; a trend which accelerated during the recession. The last part of the book deals with issues related to youth unemployment and NEET – the direct consequence of the recession. This book contains a number of innovative analyses reporting significant findings that contrast with standard models. Some of the more interesting results directly contradict conventional wisdom on a number of topics from the importance of monopsony in training markets to the importance of transitory income changes on consumption of addictive goods. This book is suitable for those who study labor economics, political economy as well as employment and unemployment.

This paper uses data from the Cedefop European Skills and Jobs (ESJ) survey, a new international dataset of adult workers in 28 EU countries, to decompose the wage penalty of overeducated workers. The ESJ survey allows for integration of a rich, previously unavailable, set of factors in the estimation of the effect of overeducation on earnings. Oaxaca decomposition techniques are employed to uncover the extent to which the overeducation wage penalty can be attributed to either (i) human capital attributes, (ii) job characteristics, (iii) information asymmetries, (iv) compensating job attributes or (v) skill needs of jobs. Differences in human capital and job-skill requirements are important factors in explaining the wage premium.It is found that asymmetry of information accounts for a significant part of the overeducation wage penalty for tertiary education graduates, whereas job characteristics and low skill content of jobs explain most of the wage gap for medium-qualified employees. Little evidence is found in favour of equilibrium theories of skills matching and compensating wage differentials. The paper thus highlights the need for customised policy responses (e.g. career guidance; policies to raise job quality) to tackle overeducation.

Focusing on the accumulation of human capital from two perspectives, through formal education and then professional training, this book provides a summary of the characteristics of education and training in Europe and also asks key questions about the problems with the current educational and training systems.

This publication is the first from the Leverhulme program of study, which focused on the major strategic options likely to be available to higher education institutions and policy-making bodies in the 1980s and 1990s. It resulted from a specialist seminar on higher education and the labor market. The chapters are: "Employers' Perceptions of Demand" (Laurence C. Hunter); "Technological Manpower" (Derek L. Bosworth); "Response to Change in the United States" (Richard B. Freeman); "Higher Education Policy" (Maurice Peston); and "The Challenge of Market Imperatives" (Robert M. Lindley). Lindley notes that the British higher education system has never come to grips with the role it might play in economic development and examines some areas of need and improvement: the search for more students; the need to get the labor market more involved in the environment of higher education and to get education to respond to market need with qualified persons; the role of higher education in the screening and credentialism process; to encourage industry's role in funding and organizing higher education; and stabilizing the labor market environment. It is concluded that labor market issues have to be handled at a more sophisticated level than the debate about manpower alone. (LC)

This volume contains original research articles which analyze the linkages between education and skills and the causes and consequences of different types of skill mismatch. The volume yields new insights regarding overeducation, underskilling, graduate jobs, wages returns to skills, aggregate productivity, job complexity and skill development.

Exacerbated by the Great Recession, youth transitions to employment and adulthood have become increasingly protracted, precarious, and differentiated by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Youth Labor in Transition examines young people's integration into employment, alongside the decisions and consequences of migrating to find work and later returning home. The authors identify key policy challenges for the future related to NEETS, overeducation, self-employment, and ethnic differences in outcomes. This illustrates the need to encompass a wider understanding of youth employment and job insecurity by including an analysis of economic production and how it relates to social reproduction of labor if policy intervention is to be effective. The mapping and extensive analysis in this book are the result of a 3«-year, European Union-funded research project (Strategic Transitions for Youth Labour in Europe, or STYLE; http://www.style-research.eu) coordinated by Jacqueline O'Reilly. With an overall budget of just under 5 million euros and involving 25 research partners; an international advisory network and local advisory boards of employers, unions, and policymakers; and non-governmental organizations from more than 20 European countries, STYLE is one of the largest European Commission-funded research projects to exist on this topic. Consequently, this book will appeal to an array of audiences, including academic and policy researchers in sociology, political science, economics, management studies, and more particular labor market and social policy; policy communities; and bachelor's- and master's-level students in courses on European studies or any of the aforementioned subject areas.