A strange course description of an adult education center created rumblings in the press last year. The title of the new announced course was: De-qualification for academics; accompanied by the explanation that an academic degree or even a doctorate can be a big hurdle for employment in certain jobs like construction helper. But there would be no reason to despair, since the necessary target group specific vocabulary, adequat clothing, and specifically attitude changes can be learned. Despite of these clichés and a scheduled starting date of 1st April, the most funny but also characteristic thing was that several journalists fell for this April fool. The subjective perception of higher education has obviously changed in parts (Karschnick 2012). In former times, people used to say that you have to study to be successful in your job. Is overqualification for university graduates in Germany really existing and increasingly becoming a problem? However, this question can also be seen in another way. Directly related to this aggregated perspective is the decision making of an individual. If there are many university graduates working in an occupation, which does not require their education, it is obviously not very desirable. Is it worth to study and striving for an university degree?
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Starting Point
2.1 Economic Context and Classification
2.1.1 Supply Side
2.1.2 Demand Side
2.1.3 Equilibrium
2.2 Methodology and Literature Overview
2.2.1 Measuring Overeducation
2.2.2 Overeducation Perspective
2.2.3 Upgrading View
2.3 General Findings
2.3.1 Overeducation Perspective
2.3.2 Upgrading View
2.4 Relation to Labor Market Theories
3. Background in and Findings for Germany
3.1 Annotations to German Labor Market and Educational System
3.2 Available Findings for Germany in Literature
4. Own Investigations
4.1 Data Set and Sample Restriction
4.2 Analysis from Overeducation Perspective
4.2.1 Method 1 after Gottschalk und Hansen: Description and Implementation
4.2.2 Method 1 after Gottschalk und Hansen: Placement and Annotations
4.2.3 Method 2 on the basis of Worker Self-Assessment (WA)
4.2.4 Method 2 on the basis of Worker Self-Assessment (WA): Placement and Annotations
4.3 Analysis from Upgrading View
4.3.1 Upgrading View on Method 1 after Gottschalk und Hansen
4.3.2 Upgrading View on Method 2 on the basis of Worker Self-Assessment (WA)
5. Combining and Interpretation of Findings
6. Conclusion
6. Reference List
6.1 Literature Sources
6.2 Online Sources
7. Appendix
Objective and Research Focus
The primary objective of this thesis is to empirically investigate whether overqualification exists for university graduates in Germany and if it represents an increasingly significant problem. By analyzing data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), the study evaluates potential displacement effects where highly educated individuals occupy jobs that do not require their specific level of education.
- Analysis of educational mismatch using two distinct methodological approaches.
- Evaluation of career development and wage growth for overeducated vs. adequately matched graduates.
- Examination of the German labor market and educational system context (e.g., dual education system).
- Empirical testing of displacement effects and the validity of "overeducation" in the German labor market.
Excerpt from the Thesis
2.1 Economic Context and Classification
In the relevant literature, overeducation, also known as over-schooling or surplus schooling, is mostly defined by the level of education an individual has in excess of required education, which means the amount of education to perform adequately in a specific job. Vice versa, undereducation, also known as under-schooling or deficit education, is mostly taken into consideration as well and defined as the lack of education an individual has in relation to the required education of a job (Rubb 2003: 621; Leuven/Oosterbeek 2011: 9). In the following, it will always be used the term education and not schooling, because this denomination is more appropriate for comparing college and non-college graduates, which are here in the center of attention.
According to the assumptions of the neoclassical perfect competitive labor market, the equilibrium emerges when the labor supply equals the labor demand. This equilibrium is “generating the competitive wage […] and employment”, whereby the wage “is the market-cleaning wage, because any other wage level would create either upward or downward pressure […]” (Borjas 2005: 164). However, the reality indisputably does not work in this simple way and the underlying requirement of production functions with a homogenous factor labor does not apply. Workers just cannot be aggregated into a single production factor labor, because “in fact, workers are very heterogeneous” (Borjas 2005: 105). This basic fact of a difficulty to determine equilibrium is the starting point of every systematic analysis regarding any kind of overeducation.
Education is surely one of the most important characteristics to explain the heterogeneity of workers, the specific demand for them and thus overeducation. The problem of heterogeneity plays an important role in all relevant literature and will be discussed in detail later on several times.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter highlights the rising public and academic discourse regarding overqualification and establishes the core research question about its prevalence among university graduates in Germany.
2. Starting Point: The chapter provides the theoretical framework, defining overeducation and classifying relevant labor market theories while explaining the differences between the "overeducation perspective" and the "upgrading view".
3. Background in and Findings for Germany: This section details specific characteristics of the German labor market and educational system, providing necessary context for interpreting empirical findings.
4. Own Investigations: This central chapter presents the empirical analysis using SOEP data, applying two distinct methodological approaches to identify overeducated individuals and evaluate their labor market outcomes.
5. Combining and Interpretation of Findings: The results of the empirical analyses are synthesized and interpreted against the theoretical background, exploring the implications of heterogeneity and labor market structures.
6. Conclusion: The thesis concludes that while overqualification for young graduates is a statistically significant phenomenon, it is largely driven by individual heterogeneity rather than a lack of suitable jobs, suggesting further research is needed.
Keywords
Overeducation, Higher Education, German Labor Market, SOEP, Educational Mismatch, Wage Growth, Labor Market Theory, Skill Demand, Displacement Effects, Heterogeneity, Career Mobility, Human Capital Theory, University Graduates, Empirical Analysis, Overqualification.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The research focuses on the existence and development of overqualification among young university graduates in the German labor market.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include the definition of overeducation, the distinction between the "overeducation perspective" and the "upgrading view," the impact of labor market heterogeneity, and empirical wage analysis.
What is the primary research question?
The thesis asks whether overqualification for university graduates is a genuine, increasing problem in Germany or whether it can be explained by other factors such as worker heterogeneity.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The author employs two distinct empirical methods: one based on Gottschalk and Hansen’s income-based wage regression and another based on direct worker self-assessment (WA) from SOEP survey data.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main part encompasses a detailed theoretical overview of labor market mismatch theories followed by a quantitative analysis using panel data from 2001 to 2010 to measure overeducation trends and their effects on wage growth.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include overeducation, educational mismatch, SOEP data, labor market heterogeneity, and wage analysis for university graduates.
How does the author define overeducation?
Overeducation is defined as the situation where an individual possesses a level of education higher than what is required for their current occupation, with the analysis focusing specifically on the gap between university graduates and non-university job requirements.
Why are there two different methods for measuring overeducation?
The author argues that using two methods—one objective/income-based and one subjective/self-assessed—allows for a more robust evaluation, as each approach has inherent advantages and shortcomings.
Does overeducation in Germany fall with experience?
The findings contradict common expectations, as the empirical analysis shows that overeducation probability for young graduates in Germany does not necessarily decrease with experience during the observation period.
What is the final conclusion regarding the "stepping-stone or trap" dilemma?
The results suggest that overeducated individuals do not experience significantly higher wage growth than their matched counterparts, indicating that for many, the initial overqualification status is not a temporary "stepping-stone" but a more persistent barrier.
- Citation du texte
- Jan H. Bühring (Auteur), 2013, Overqualification in the German labor market, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/277656
