Labour market mismatch among UK graduates: ...

An analysis using REFLEX data

an article by Seamus McGuinness (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin)and Peter J Sloane (WELMERC, Swansea University; IZA Bonn, Germany; and Flinders University, Australia) published in Economics of Education Review Volume 30 Issue 1 (February 2011)

Abstract
There is much disagreement in the literature over the extent to which graduates are mismatched in the labour market and the reasons for this. In this paper we utilise the Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society (REFLEX) data set to cast light on these issues, based on data for UK graduates. We find substantial pay penalties for over-education for both sexes and for over-skilling in the case of men only. When both education and skill mismatch variables are included together in the model only over-skilling reduces job satisfaction consistently for both sexes. Using job attributes data it appears that the lower wages of the over-qualified may in part simply represent a compensating wage differential for positive job attributes, while for men at least, there are real costs to being over-skilled.

Hazel's comment:

And this comes at a time when we are told that large numbers of graduates are not only working in jobs for which their level of education/skill is not appropriate but are not employed doing anything!

Has the world gone mad or is it just me?

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Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2009)

From NFER

PISA 2009 national reports for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are now available:


• National report for England
• National report for Wales
• National report for Northern Ireland
• PISA 2009 Student questionnaire
• PISA 2009 School questionnaire
• PISA 2009 Sample reading questions

For Scotland's results go to: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00880

For the international report go to: OECD PISA

What is OECD PISA?

• The world's biggest international education survey, involving schools and students in over 50 countries.
• An assessment of the knowledge and skills of 15- year-olds as they approach the end of compulsory education.

Sample PISA questions

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For PISA 2006 click here

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ALP/LLUK Workforce Strategy - Data Collection

via ALP: All news

Detailed labour market information is important to all of us. Knowing what the potential demand for skills in a sector in a geographical area is at the heart of planning training delivery.

Hazel’s comment:

WOW! Someone stating the obvious – maybe ALP/LLUK has the answer to LMI not just for planning training delivery but for careers guidance.

Well, maybe they have but I’m not paying £308 to join ALP and find out.

Sorry!

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Career studies

The latest issue of Human Relations (Volumes 64 Issue 1 (January 2011)), edited by Svetlana N Khapova and Michael B Arthur is a special issue on “Interdiciplinary approaches to contemporary career studies”.

The table of contents covers:

• In search of the blue flower? Grand social theories and career research: The case of Bourdieu’s theory of practice
• Contested terrain in careers: A psychological contract model
• Careers, social context and interdisciplinary thinking
• Professional identity construction: Using narrative to understand the negotiation of professional and stimatized cultural identities
• Responsible careers: Systematic reflexivity in shifting landscapes

Hazel’s comment:

Looks as though this is another journal that I'll need to read the whole of on my next visit to the British Library. Thursday of next week is looking fairly busy already – and that’s not counting the backlog that’s been building up while I’ve been out of action for the last couple of months.

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Never Worked Households

National Statistics has published details of the number of households in the UK where none of the working-age adults has ever been in paid employment (at least not officially).

My initial thought was that a figure of just over 300k households was not too bad but on reading further I discovered that this has doubled in the 13 years since 1997. Not so good. Even worse is that over a quarter of a million children live in households where none of the adults has ever worked.

What chance have these kids got?

Read the press notice and get links to further information.

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Tax evasion

There is, as many people are aware, a vast difference between evading and avoiding but what is this difference?

Trying to get it straight in my own mind I found the following:

The government announced a Consultation Paper in April 2004. This was the start of a new régime for “tackling tax avoidance” by requiring disclosure of “schemes” (DOTAS) which the government felt resulted in companies and individuals paying less than their fair share of tax.
The régime itself was revised from the 1 August 2006 to help distinguish between “tax avoidance” (legal but irritating to the government) and “acceptable planning” (legal and actively promoted by government).

This was from a commercial organisation helping companies to ensure that compliance with the law did not mean paying too much money. Evasion is something else again – deliberately not paying tax to which the government is entitled.

What triggered this off in my mind was looking at the table of contents for the Public Finance Review Volume 39 Issue 1 (January 2011) which is special issue on the topic of evasion. My next visit to the British Library will be Thursday of next week so I will look at the whole issue and pick out what I think will be of interest to readers.

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