Causes of Overeducation in the Australian Labour Market

Ingrid Linsley ()
Additional contact information
Ingrid Linsley: Research Bank of Australia, Sydney

Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), 2005, vol. 8, issue 2, 121-143

Abstract: Overeducation is a form of labour underutilization which occurs when the formal education level of a worker exceeds that which is required for the job. In Australia close to 30 per cent of workers are overeducated and are underutilising their skills. Using data from the Negotiating the Life Course survey, this study determines the causes of overeducation in Australia. Four of the key theories that have been used to explain overeducation are tested: human capital, job competition, assignment and the career mobility theories. Tests show that the job competition model best explains the existence of overeducation in the Australian labour market.

Keywords: Analysis of Education; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity (Formal Training Programs; On-the-Job Training); Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J24 J29 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

Downloads: (external link)
http://ftprepec.drivehq.com/ozl/journl/downloads/AJLE082linsley.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ozl:journl:v:8:y:2005:i:2:p:121-143

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE) from Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sandie Rawnsley ().