Overeducation and Overskilling in Australia: Second Generation Greek-Australians and Italian-Australians

Abstract

We utilise HILDA data over the period [2001][2002][2003][2004][2005] to evaluate the performance of second generation Greek-Australians and Italian-Australians in the labour market.We focus on the effect of overeducation, undereducation, languages-other-thanEnglish (LOTE), and ethnicity on weekly earnings of full-time workers. The evidence has a follows: (a) most Greek-Australians are over-represented amongst the overeducated; (b) overeducation and overskilling can be attributed to a lack of new skills on the job, parental occupational status, non-English speaking overseas born, and unobserved characteristics of second generation females; (c) LOTE does not seem to make a contribution to earning of individual workers, and (d) the use of LOTE amongst the two second generation groups has declined; second generation women in part-time employment are an exception.

English Language Proficiency Among Older Migrants in Australia, 2016–2046

“…This means that as this cohort lives and works in Australia, they are likely to continue to improve (or at least maintain) their already high standard of English proficiency for many years and into later life. They are also likely to prioritise English proficiency and education in their children as has been the case for secondgeneration Greek-and Italian-Australians, both of whom are more educated and more skilled than third and subsequent generations of Australians (Messinis, 2008). While this can create a disconnect between qualification and wages as well as between skills acquired and skills needed in the job, the strong emphasis in migrant families on education highlight the importance they place on language as a determinant of labour market performance (Messinis, 2008).…”

Born abroad and educated here: examining the impacts of education and skill mismatch among immigrant graduates in Europe

“…This paper contributes to the existing literature that examines the relationship between migrant status and labour market mismatch (Piracha et al 2012;Lindley 2009;Messinis 2008aMessinis , 2008bBattu and Sloane 2004). This paper adds to the debate on a number of levels.…”

“…These studies have produced conflicting findings regarding the labour market outcomes of migrant groups. On the one hand, a body of work has empirically demonstrated that migrants and specific ethnic minority groups occupy an unequal and disadvantaged position in the labour market in terms of higher unemployment rates, lower earnings and higher rates of overeducation (Blackaby et al 1998(Blackaby et al , 1999(Blackaby et al , 2002(Blackaby et al , 2005Duncan and Hoffman 1981;Alpin et al 1998;Battu and Sloane 2004;Kucel and Byrne 2008;Messinis 2008aMessinis , 2008bLindley 2009, Nielsen 2011, Joona et al 2014). However, a number of studies have also found that, on average, migrants perform better than natives in the labour market in terms of both higher employment and earnings (Bell 1997;Clark and Lindley 2005).…”

Struggling for cultural survival: Hungarian identity discourses in the face of assimilation

“…Several works have touched upon these issues in relation to, for instance, the Greek (Nicolacopoulos and Vassilacopoulos ; Tamis ), Hmong (Julian ), and Polish (Jupp ) diaspora in Australia. Several of these studies examine language loss among the second generation (Ali ; Arvanatis ; Bradshaw ; Messinis, ; Avgoulas and Fanany ; Buttafoco ). However, none of the studies deal explicitly with the efforts and struggles of the given community to preserve their culture throughout the subsequent generations in Australia.…”