Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T01:25:15.060Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Lack of Training: Employment Opportunities for Low-Skilled Persons from a Sociological and Microeconomic Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2009

Heike Solga
By
Heike Solga
Edited by
Karl Ulrich Mayer
Heike Solga
Affiliation:
Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
Karl Ulrich Mayer
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
Get access

Summary

Over the past three decades, low-skilled persons have received increasing attention by researchers on skill formation and labor markets across disciplines as well as by politicians. “In many OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries, discussions of the transition between education and employment are dominated by the problem of how to help a small minority of young people with severe and often multiple problems: who are doing badly at school; who experienced prolonged and regular unemployment; and who are extremely likely to experience a lifetime of low income, insecure employment, and relatively poor health” (OECD, 1999a: 26f). In all Western societies, we find an increasing labor market vulnerability of low-skilled persons over the past twenty-five years, although at different levels.

Disadvantages that low-skilled persons have in labor markets are studied in both microeconomics and sociology. Here, sociologists have quickly adopted microeconomic explanations. In doing so, however, they have ignored valuable sociology contributions toward explaining changes in the relationship between low education and labor market opportunities. This chapter delivers not competing but complementary sociological and microeconomic explanations for the increasing labor market vulnerability of low-skilled persons over the past three decades. These accounts are then used to explain variation in the vulnerability of low-skilled workers in developed countries.

This chapter starts with a portrayal of the dominant microeconomic explanation for the increase in labor market problems of low-skilled persons – the displacement argument – followed by a discussion of its shortcomings.

Type
Chapter
Information
Skill Formation
Interdisciplinary and Cross-National Perspectives
 , pp. 173 - 204
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aberg, R. (2003). Unemployment persistency, over-education and the employment chances of the less educated. European Sociological Review, 19(2), 199–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allmendinger, J. (1989). Career Mobility Dynamics (Studien und Berichte 49). Berlin: Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung.Google Scholar
Baron, J. N., & Pfeffer, J. (1994). The social psychology of organizations and inequality. Social Psychological Quarterly, 57(3), 190–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumert, J., & Schümer, G. (2001). Familiäre Lebensverhältnisse, Bildungsbeteiligung und Kompetenzerwerb. In Deutsches PISA-Konsortium (Ed.), PISA 2000 (pp. 323–407). Opladen, Germany: Leske + Budrich.
Becker, G. S. (1964). Human Capital. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.Google Scholar
Bennett, H., & Weiss, M. (1998). Labor market restructuring and workforce development. In Giloth, R. P. (Ed.), Jobs and Economic Development. Strategies and Practice (pp. 19–41). London: Sage.Google Scholar
Bills, D. B. (1988). Educational credentials and hiring decisions. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 7, 71–97.Google Scholar
Blalock, H. M., Jr. (1991). Understanding Social Inequality: Modeling Allocation Processes. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Blank, R. M. (1997). The misdiagnosis of eurosclerosis. The American Prospect, 8, 81–85.Google Scholar
Blossfeld, H.-P. (1985). Bildungsexpansion und Berufschancen: Empirische Analysen zur Lage der Berufsanfänger in der Bundesrepublik. Frankfurt/Main: Campus.Google Scholar
Blossfeld, H.-P. (1990). Changes in educational careers in the Federal Republic of Germany. Sociology of Education, 63(3), 165–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boudon, R. (1974). Education, Opportunity, and Social Inequality. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Bowman, M. J. (1966). The human investment revolution in economic thought. Sociology of Education, 39(2), 111–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewer, M. B., & Brown, R. J. (1998). Intergroup relations. In Gilbert, D. T., Fiske, S. T., & Lindzey, G. (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology (4th ed., pp. 554–595). Boston: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Brown, R. J. (1996). Intergroup relations. In Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W., & Stephenson, G. M. (Eds.), Introduction to Social Psychology: A European Perspective (pp. 530–561). Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Burt, R. S. (1992). Structural Holes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Burt, R. S. (1997). The contingent value of social capital. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 339–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, B. R. (1960). The “cooling-out” function of higher education. American Journal of Sociology, 65(6), 569–576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, J. S. (1991). Matching processes in the labor market. Acta Sociologica, 34(1), 3–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliot, J. R., & Smith, R. A. (2004). Race, gender, and workplace power. American Sociological Review, 69, 365–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1999). Politics without class: Postindustrial cleavages in Europe and America. In Kitschelt, H., Lange, P., Marks, G., & Stephens, J. D. (Eds.), Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism (pp. 293–316). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G., Rohwer, G., & S⊘rensen, S. L. (1994). Institutions and occupational class mobility: Scaling the skill barrier in the Danish labour market. European Sociological Review, 10(2), 119–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). (Ed.). (1999). Agora – IV: Gering qualifizierte Personen am Arbeitsmarkt: Ausblick und politische Optionen. Thessaloniki, Greece: Author.
European Union. (2000). Integrating All Young People into Society through Education and Training. Volume 2: Compendium of the Projects. Strasbourg, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Eurydice. (1994). Die Bekämpfung des Schulversagens: eine Herausforderung an ein vereintes Europa. Strasbourg, Luxembourg: Amt für amtliche Veröffentlichungen der europäischen Gemeinschaften.
Eurydice. (1997). Studie zu den Maßnahmen der Mitgliedsstaaten der Europäischen Union für Jugendliche, die das Bildungssystem ohne Qualifikation verlassen haben. Brüssels, Belgium: Europäische Eurydice-Informationsstelle (Informationsnetz zum Bildungswesen in Europa).
Fiske, S. T. (1998). Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. In Gilbert, D. T., Fiske, S. T., & Lindzey, G. (Eds.), Handbook of Social Psychology (4th ed., pp. 357–411). New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Franz, W. (1999). The Role of Skills and Technology. Paper presented at the Conference of LSE and Centre for Economic Performance on “Employability and Exclusion: What Governments Can Do,” Mannheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Ganßmann, H. (2000). Labor market flexibility, social protection and unemployment. European Societies, 2(3), 243–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giloth, R. P. (1998). Jobs and economic development. In Giloth, R. P. (Ed.), Jobs & Economic Development: Strategies and Practice (pp. 1–16). London: Sage.Google Scholar
Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Granovetter, M. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granovetter, M. (1974). Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hirsch, F. (1977). Social Limits to Growth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hoffmann, E., & Walwei, U. (2000). Strukturwandel der Erwerbsarbeit: Was heißt eigentlich noch “normal”? IAB-Kurzbericht Nr. 14/25.10.2000. Nürnberg, Germany: Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung.Google Scholar
Jones, E. E., Farina, A., Hastorf, A. H., Markus, H., Miller, D. T., & Scott, R. A. (1984). Social Stigma: The Psychology of Marked Relationships. New York: W. H. Freeman.Google Scholar
Kalleberg, A. L. (1996). Changing contexts of careers. In Kerckhoff, A. C. (Ed.), Generating Social Stratification (pp. 343–358). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Lenhardt, G. (2002). Die verspätete Entwicklung der deutschen Schule. Pädagogische Korrespondenz, 29, 5–22.Google Scholar
Leschinsky, A., & Mayer, K. U. (1999). Comprehensive schools and inequality of opportunity in the Federal Republic of Germany. In Leschinsky, A. & Mayer, K. U. (Eds.), The Comprehensive School Experiment Revisited: Evidence from Western Europe (2nd ed., pp. 13–39). Frankfurt/Main: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Mare, R. D. (1980). Social background and school continuation decisions. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 75(370), 295–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, W. (1994). The process and consequences of education differentiation: Summary report. In European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) (Ed.), The Determinants of Transitions in Youth (pp. 207–213). Berlin: Cedefop.
Murnane, R., & Levy, F. (1996). Teaching the New Basic Skills. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
National Economic and Social Forum. (2002). Early School Leavers. Forum Report 24. Dublin: Author. Available at: National Economic and Social Forum
Nickell, S. (1997). Unemployment and labor market rigidities: Europe versus North America. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(3), 55–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nickell, S. (2004). Why Are the Unskilled Doing So Badly? Paper prepared for the EuroConference series “European Society or European Societies?” Granada, Spain, September 18–23.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (1999a). Thematic Review of the Transition from Initial Education to Working Life: Denmark. Country Notes. Paris: Author.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (1999b). Thematic Review of the Transition from Initial Education to Working Life: United States of America. Paris: Author.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2000a). Education at Glance: OECD Indicators. Paris: Author.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2000b). From Initial Education to Working Life: Making Transitions Work. Paris: Author.
Parsons, T. (1959). The school class as a social system: Some of its functions in American society. Harvard Educational Review, 29, 297–318.Google Scholar
Pfahl, L. (2003). Stigma-Management im Job-Coaching: Berufsorientierungen benachteiligter Jugendlicher. Master's thesis, Free University, Department of Sociology, Berlin.Google Scholar
Prenzel, M., Baumert, J., Blum, W., Lehmann, R., Leutner, D., Neubrand, M., Pekrun, R., Rolff, H.-G., Rost, J., & Schiefele, U. (Eds.). (2004). PISA 2003: Ergebnisse des zweiten internationalen Vergleichs. Zusammenfassung. Available at: http://pisa.ipn.uni-kiel.de/Ergebnisse_PISA_2003.pdf.
Reinberg, A., & Hummel, M. (2002). Qualifikationsspezifische Arbeitslosenquoten – reale Entwicklung oder statistisches Artefakt? IAB-Werkstattbericht Nr. 4/23.4.2002. Nürnberg, Germany: Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung.Google Scholar
Riesman, D. (1967/1997). Notes on meritocracy. In Bell, D. & Graubard, S. R. (Eds.), Toward the Year 2000: Work in Progress (pp. 265–276). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Rijken, S. (1999). Educational Expansion and Status Attainment: A Cross-National and Over-Time Comparison. Amsterdam: Thesis.Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, J. E., & Binder, A. (1997). Do employers really need more educated youth? Sociology of Education, 70(1), 68–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, H., & Connell, P. J. (2001). Getting a job in Europe: The transition from unemployment to work among young people in nine European countries. Work, Employment & Society, 15(1), 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schümer, G. (2001). Institutionelle Bedingungen schulischen Lernens im internationalen Vergleich. In Deutsches PISA-Konsortium (Ed.), PISA 2000 (pp. 411–427). Opladen, Germany: Leske + Budrich.
Sehringer, R. (1989). Betriebliche Strategien der Personalrekrutierung. Frankfurt/Main: Campus.Google Scholar
Seyfried, B. (2006). Berufsausbildungsvorbereitung aus betrieblicher Sicht. Bonn, Germany: Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung.Google Scholar
Shavit, Y., & Müller, W. (Eds.). (1998). From School to Work: A Comparative Study of Educational Qualifications and Occupational Destinations. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Solga, H. (2002a). “Stigmatization by negative selection”: Explaining less-educated persons' decreasing employment opportunities. European Sociological Review, 18(2), 159–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solga, H. (2002b). “Ausbildungslosigkeit” als soziales Stigma in Bildungsgesellschaften. Ein soziologischer Erklärungsbeitrag für die wachsenden Arbeitsmarktprobleme von Personen ohne Ausbildungsabschluss. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 54(3), 476–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solga, H. (2004). Increasing risks of stigmatization: Changes in school-to-work transitions of less-educated West Germans. Yale Journal of Sociology, 4, 99–129. Available at: www.yale.edu/socdept/yjs/YJSFall2004.pdf.Google Scholar
Solga, H. (2005). Ohne Abschluss in die Bildungsgesellschaft: Die Erwerbschancen gering qualifizierter Personen aus ökonomischer und soziologischer Perspektive. Opladen, Germany: Verlag Barbara Budrich.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
S⊘rensen, A. B. (1977). The structure of inequality and the process of attainment. American Sociological Review, 42(6), 965–978.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
S⊘rensen, A. B. (1983). Processes of open and closed positions in social structure. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 12(3), 203–224.Google Scholar
S⊘rensen, A. B., & Kalleberg, A. L. (1981). An outline of a theory of matching persons to jobs. In Berg, I. (Ed.), Sociological Perspectives on Labor Markets (pp. 49–74). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Spence, M. A. (1973). Job market signaling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, M. A. (1974). Market Signaling: Informational Transfer in Hiring and Related Screening Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Stauber, B., & Walther, A. (2000). Avoiding Misleading Trajectories: Transition Dilemmas of Young Adults in Europe. Tübingen, Germany: IRIS e.V. Available at: www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/projects/UWWCLUS/Papers/papers.htm.Google Scholar
Stiglitz, J. E. (1975). The theory of “screening,” education, and the distribution of income. American Economic Review, 65(3), 283–300.Google Scholar
Stinchcombe, A. L. (1987). Constructing Social Theories. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Thurow, L. C. (1975). Generating Inequality. New York: Basic Books.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thurow, L. C. (1979). A job competition model. In Piore, M. J. (Ed.), Unemployment and Inflation (pp. 17–32). New York: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Tilly, C. (1998). Durable Inequality. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Trow, M. (1977). The second transformation of American secondary education. In Karabel, J. & Halsey, A. H. (Eds.), Power and Ideology in Education (pp. 105–118). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Weber, M. (1994). Open and closed relationships. In Grusky, D. B. (Ed.), Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective (pp. 126–129). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Wial, H. (1991). Getting a good job: Mobility in a segmented labor market. Industrial Relations, 30(3), 396–416.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×