The role of social origin and field of study on graduates’ overeducation: the case of Italy

Abstract

This article explores the influence of social origin on overeducation across various fields of study. With the expansion of higher education most advantaged classes seek qualitative and quantitative advantages to differentiate themselves from other graduates. Although credentials are direct signals of productivity they can also be viewed by employers as indirect signals of non-cognitive skills, which can be acquired through family socialization. These credentials may explain differences in overeducation among graduates of different fields of study and social origin. Parental educational background and occupation are relevant characteristics from which individuals gain useful skills and information to avoid overeducation in the labour market. Using data from the Italian Graduates Employment Survey (ISTAT in Indagine Statistica sull'Inserimento Professionale dei Laureati. Istituto nazionale di statistica, Rome, 2007) this article provides evidence that graduates from fields of study that do not lead to a specific occupation (e.g. Humanities, Political and Social Sciences) decrease their risk of overeducation when their fathers belong to the professional class, but it has no influence on graduates from occupationally focused fields of study (e.g. Engineering and Medicine). These results are consistent even after controlling for the possible use of social networks when looking for a job.

Patterns of Overeducation in Europe: The Role of Field of Study

“…In the first analysis of this kind, Green and McIntosh (2007) restrict their estimation for the United Kingdom to the subsample of university graduates. Also some later studies focused on tertiary graduates only (Reimer et al, 2008;Smyth and Steinmetz, 2008;Tarvid, 2012;Berlingieri and Zierahn, 2014;Capsada-Munsech, 2015).…”

Overeducation, skills and social background: the influence of parental education on overeducation in Spain

“…This might gain even more importance in the context of educational expansion, as educational attainment becomes a "universalistic" indicator of merit and employers may have more incentives to focus on "particularistic" characteristics to select their employees, even if these characteristics are gained via family socialisation. Hence, soft skills gained through family socialisation might be relevant to avoid overeducation, especially among certain occupational groups where these skills are more valued (Capsada-Munsech, 2015).…”

Overeducation: Concept, theories, and empirical evidence

“…The main explanations are cultural capital, social networks, and information attached to their progenitors (e.g., dressing and behavioural codes in interviews, where to look for a job, and knowledge of the sector) that facilitates educational job matches. Moreover, the influence of social background varies across fields of study, being more relevant in fields of study providing general skills (e.g., humanities and social sciences; Capsada‐Munsech, ).…”