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Review of Regional Research
Published in: Review of Regional Research 2/2016

21-08-2015 | Original Paper

Labor migration and overeducation among young college graduates

Authors: Brigitte Waldorf, Seong Do Yun

Published in: Review of Regional Research | Issue 2/2016

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Abstract

This paper focuses on labor market outcomes of young college graduates in the US, analyzing the nexus between migration, overeducation, and economic conditions. A series of overeducation probit models are estimated, using data from the March Supplements of the Current Population Survey, 2000–2014. We find that labor migrants are less prone to being overeducated as unemployment rates increase. For stayers, in contrast, we find a positive link between overeducation propensities and unemployment rates. As a result of this response divergence, overeducation probabilities of stayers exceed those of movers during times of medium to high unemployment rates. The results are robust to various definitions of overeducation and various sample restrictions.
next article Knowledge, innovation, agglomeration and regional convergence in the EU: motivating place-based regional intervention

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Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
In the US in 2012, for example, the interstate migration rate among young workers with a college degree was 5.6 %, and 52.1 % of those moves were motivated by a new job or job search. In comparison, for those without a college degree, the interstate migration rate was only 2.7 %, and only about 37.6 % of those moves were motivated by searching for, or accepting a new job (March Supplement, 2012 Current Population Survey).
 
2
The European Union takes an active role in trying to reduce such regional disparities by implementing policies that enhance spatial flexibility, for example the European Employment Service (EURES) that encourages and facilitates migration across borders (European Commission,https://​ec.​europa.​eu/​eures/​public/​homepage).
 
3
See Van der Velden and Van Smoorenburg (1997) for an overview.
 
4
The most common occupations among college graduates are shown in the Appendix (Table 7), together with their definition-specific overeducation classifications.
 
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Metadata
Title
Labor migration and overeducation among young college graduates
Authors
Brigitte Waldorf
Seong Do Yun
Publication date
21-08-2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Review of Regional Research / Issue 2/2016
Print ISSN: 0173-7600
Electronic ISSN: 1613-9836
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10037-015-0101-0

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