Bachelor Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Economics - Job market economics, grade: 1,3, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg (Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre), language: English, abstract: 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?

Across the developed world, most of us who work now earn our living in the service sector. However, the issue of what kind of service economy is sustainable and desirable, both in economic and social terms, is rarely debated. This book argues that this needs to change. National governments have emphasised the role of skills in achieving international competitiveness, higher living standards, and social inclusion. However, even prior to the 2008 financial crisis, problems of over-qualification, skills wastage, and poor job quality were becoming difficult to ignore. This raises important questions about what kind of service sector jobs will be on offer to meet the aspirations of an increasingly qualified workforce and what role can governments play in raising the skills required in jobs and the quality of jobs and services? Work organisation and job design are key factors shaping the skill content of work and the opportunities workers have to deploy their skills and capabilities. Through cross-national comparative research, this book examines whether and why service sector jobs vary across countries. Drawing upon detailed empirical research, the jobs of vocational teacher, fitness instructor, and cafe worker in the UK, Norway, and France are compared, allowing an exploration of the role of national institutions, sectors, and organisations in shaping work organisation and job quality. The findings contribute to the comparative study of work organisation, the relationship between skills and performance, the role and purpose of education and the prospects for better jobs in 'the age of over-qualification'.

After three decades of economic reform, China is experiencing substantial demographic changes and a steady structural transformation toward a market economy. This volume presents fresh knowledge on labor market issues in China including topics such as: occupational choice and mobility, over-qualification and hiring, cost of displacement, and the pe

"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."

"To what extent can different forms of social capital help immigrants make headway on the labour market? An answer to this pressing question begins here. Taking the Netherlands and Germany as case studies, the book identifies two forms of social capital that may work to increase employment, income and occupational status and, conversely, decrease unemployment. New insights into the concepts of bonding and bridging arise through quantitative research methods, using longitudinal and crosssectional data. Referring to a dense network with 'thick' trust, bonding is measured as family ties, co-ethnic ties and trust in the family. Bridging is seen in terms of interethnic ties, thus implying a crosscutting network with 'thin' trust. Immigrant Performance in the Labour Market reveals that although bonding allows immigrants to get by, bridging enables them to get ahead"--Publisher's description.

This publication gathers the papers presented at the “OECD-EU dialogue on mobility and international migration: matching economic migration with labour market needs” (Brussels, 24-25 February 2014), a conference jointly organised by the European Commission and the OECD.

Selected by Princeton University as Noteworthy Book in Industrial Relations and Labor Economics for 2010. Are immigrants from the new EU member states a threat to the Western welfare state? Do they take jobs away from the natives? And will the source countries suffer from severe brain drain or demographic instability? In a timely and unprecedented contribution, this book integrates what is known about post-enlargement migration and its effects on EU labor markets. Based on rigorous analysis and hard data, it makes a convincing case that there is no evidence that the post-enlargement labor migrants would on aggregate displace native workers or lower their wages, or that they would be more dependent on welfare. While brain drain may be a concern in the source countries, the anticipated brain circulation between EU member states may in fact help to solve their demographic and economic problems, and improve the allocative efficiency in the EU. The lesson is clear: free migration is a solution rather than a foe for labor market woes and cash-strapped social security systems in the EU.