Overeducation and Overskilling: Second Generation Australians

This study utilises HILDA data to evaluate the performance of second generation Australians in full-time employment over the period 2001-2005. Attention is paid to the effects and key drivers of overeducation and overskilling. Quantile regression is employed to account for non-random sample selection. The evidence provides several new insights: (a) Greek-Australians are overeducated; (b) Asian languages and Chinese or Vietnamese ancestry associate with a wage premium; (c) the returns to tertiary education, overeducation and overskilling very with ability; (d) parental occupational status is a key determinant of overeducation; and (e) lack of employer provision for new skills and personality traits are important drivers of overskilling. * I have benefited from valuable comments provided by the editor, two anonymous referees, participants at the 2nd International Conference on Educational Economics, in Athens, September 2008, and discussion at a workshop organised by Kostas Mavromaras at Melbourne Institute at a Melbourne University in November 2008. Any remaining errors are my responsibility. This study uses unit record data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The HILDA Project was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (MIAESR). The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the author and should not be attributed to either FaHCSIA or the MIAESR. Overeducation and Overskilling CSES Working Paper No. 41 1