Overeducation of University Graduates in Germany : The effect of Gender, Migration Status and Family Background and their Interactions

Abstract

"The present paper explores the risk of academics in Germany to be overeducated. The focus is on the impact of the characteristics of gender, migration status and family background and their interdependencies. Overeducation exists if the formal educational level of a person is higher than that required for the occupation held on the labour market. Based on data from the survey among adults of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) it can be argued that women, migrants and persons with an educationally disadvantaged family background have a higher risk of being overeducated than the respective comparison groups. Taking into account the interactions of these three factors, there is no particular disadvantage for female migrants compared to male migrants. Also the family background does not increase (or decrease) significantly the risk of being overeducated for migrants. However, the impact of the family background does vary with gender: The risk of being overeducated increases multiplicatively for women who have an educationally disadvantaged family background. The most privileged group are men with academically educated parents, regardless of whether or not a migration background exists." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Kracke, N. (2016): Unterwertige Beschäftigung von AkademikerInnen in Deutschland. Die Einflussfaktoren Geschlecht, Migrationsstatus und Bildungsherkunft und deren Wechselwirkungen. In: Soziale Welt, Vol. 67, No. 2, p. 177-204. DOI:10.5771/0038-6073-2016-2-177