The Relationship Between Higher Education and Labour Market in Greece: the Weakest Link?

Livanos, Ilias (2009): The Relationship Between Higher Education and Labour Market in Greece: the Weakest Link? Unpublished.

Abstract

The high level of graduate unemployment, even though has been acknowledged as one of the most distinctive characteristics of the Greek labour market, has not attracted enough attention in the academic literature. This paper utilizes the recently available micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey in order to investigate how the employment situation of young (aged 35 and below) graduates varies according to their field of study. The findings suggest that graduates of disciplines that have high levels of private sector employment, such as Polytechnics and Computer Science, are in general better off in the Greek labour market. On the other hand, graduates of disciplines that are traditionally related to the needs of the public sector, such as Sociology and Humanities face poor employment prospects. The findings of this study highlight the need for drastic reforms of the Higher Education system.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: graduate unemployment, Greece, higher education, field of study, labour market
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A2 - Economics Education and Teaching of Economics > A23 - Graduate; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C3 - Econometric Methods: Multiple; Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables; Endogenous Regressors > C31 - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

References

Boero, G., McNight A., Naylor, R. and J. Smith (2001) Graduates and Graduate Labour Market in the UK and Italy, Centro Ricerche Economiche Nord Sud, Universita degli Studi di Cagliari

Demekas, D., Kontolemis, Z. (1996) “Unemployment in Greece- A Survey of the Issues”, IMF Working Paper no. 91.

European Commission (1996) Labour Market Studies: Greece, Employment and social affairs (European Commission, Luxemburg).

European Commission, (2003b), European Education Production Functions: what makes a difference for student achievement in Europe, (European Commission Munich).

European Communities , (2003) The European Union labour force survey: Methods and definitions-2001, Luxemburg.

Filer, R., Hamermesh, D.S. and Rees, A.E. (1996) Economics of Work and Pay (New York, HarperCollins).

Ghuang, H. (1999) “Estimating the determinants of the unemployment duration for college graduates in Taiwan”, Applied Economics Letters, 6, 677-681

Glytsos, N. (1990) Anticipated graduate job mismatches and higher education capacity inequalities in Greece, Higher Education, 19, 397-418.

International Labour Organization. (1996) Population Active Selon La Situation Le Sexe Et Le Niveau D’Instruction Le Plus Eleve, Special Tabulation (Genova, Switzerland).

Kanellopoulos, C. (1997) “Public- private wage differentials in Greece”, Applied Economics, 29, 1023-1032.

Katsanevas, Th. (2003) Professions of the future and the past, Patakis, Athens (in Greek).

KEPE (2003) “Education and Employment”, Economic Review, 3, Centre of Planning and Economic Research, Athens (in Greek).

Lambropoulos, H., Psacharopoulos, G. (1992) “Educational Expansion and Earnings Differentials in Greece”, Comparative Education Review 36, p. 52-70.

Liagouras, G., Protogerou, A. and Y. Caloghirou (2003) “Exploring mismatches between higher education and the labour market in Greece”, European Journal of Education, 38, 4, 2003.

Livanos, I. (2007) “The incidence of long term unemployment: evidence from Greece”, Applied Economics Letters, 14, 405-408.

Livanos, I. (2008) Exploring the changing patterns of skills in Greece: an analysis of the Greek labour market in the context of the international debate about the role of skills, PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Livanos, I. (2009a) “Modeling the incidence of unemployment in Greece”, Applied Economics Letters, forthcoming.

Livanos, I. (2009b) “The wage – local unemployment relationship in a highly regulated labour market: Greece”, Regional Studies, forthcoming.

Magoula. T. and G. Psacharopoulos (1999) “Schooling and monetary rewards in Greece: an overeducation false alarm?” Applied Economics, 31, 1589-1597.

Moreau, M. and C. Leathwood (2006) Graduates’ employment and the discourse of employability: a critical analysis, Journal of Education and Work, 19, 4, pp. 305-324.

Mincer, J. (1991) Education and Unemployment, NBER Working Papers # 3838

Nassiakou, M. (1981) The tendency toward learning in the Greek countryside, Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora, 8, 63-9

Nickel, S. (1979) “Education and the lifetime pattern of employment”, Journal of Political Economy, 87, 5, 117-131.

OECD (2000) From initial education to working life (OECD, Paris).

OECD (2005) Economic Surveys: Greece (OECD, Paris). OECD (2006) OECD Jobs Strategy: lessons from a decade’s experience (OECD, Paris).

Patrinos, H. (1997) Overeducation in Greece, International Review of Education, 43, 2, pp. 203-223.

Psacharopoulos, G., Soumelis, C. (1979) A quantitative analysis for the demand for higher education, Higher Education, 8, pp. 159-177

Psacharopoulos, G. (2003a) “The social cost of an outdated law: Article 16 of the Greek constitution”, European Journal of Law and Economics, 16, 123-137.

Psacharopoulos, G. (2003b) Greek education: a modern tragedy, Sideris (in Greek).

Smith, J., McNight A. and R. Naylor (2000) “Graduate Employability: Policy and Performance in Higher Education in the UK”, The Economic Journal, 110, 464, 382-411.

Tsakloglou P. and Cholezas I. (2001) Private Returns to Education in Greece, Athens University of Economics and Business.

Tsoukalas, C. (1981) Some aspects of ‘over-qualification’, Journal of Hellenic Diaspora, 8, 109-121

Woolbers, M.H. (2000) “The effects of level of education and mobility bet on employment and unemployment in the Netherlands”, European Sociological Review, 16, 2, 185-200.