Job Mismatches and their Labour Market Effects among School-leavers in Europe

Maarten Wolbers

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the determinants of job mismatches with respect to field of education among school-leavers in Europe. In addition, the effects of having a job mismatch on the labour market position of school-leavers are examined. Special attention is paid to cross-country variation in this respect. The data that are used come from the EU LFS 2000 ad hoc module on school-to-work transitions. The results of the empirical analysis show that several individual, job, and structural characteristics affect the likelihood of having a job mismatch. Furthermore, the incidence of job mismatches differs between European countries: in countries where the share of upper secondary education students in school-based vocational education is high, the incidence of job mismatches among school-leavers is higher than in countries where this share is low. With respect to the labour market effects of job mismatches, the most important finding is that school-leavers with a non matching job achieve less occupational status than those with a matching one. This negative effect of job mismatches is smaller in countries where the share of school-based, respectively apprenticeship-type vocational education is higher. Moreover, the analysis reveals that school-leavers with a job mismatch use adjustment strategies to improve fit. A first strategy refers to job search activities: school-leavers with a non matching job more frequently look for another job than school-leavers with a matching job. In countries where the share of school-based vocational education is high, the effect of having a job mismatch on the likelihood of looking for another job is smaller than in countries where this share is low. A second adjustment strategy concerns training participation: on average, there is a negative effect of having a job mismatch on the probability of participating in continuous vocational training. However, in countries where the share of school-based, respectively apprenticeship-type vocational education is low, the impact of having a job mismatch on training participation is positive

Keywords: East-Central Europe; regulations; sociology; unemployment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002-07-09
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