Skills mismatch in the new and old member states – are generations affected differently?

Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak; Iga Magda; Łukasz Sienkiewicz

doi:10.6001/fil-soc.2016.27.4.6

Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak
Iga Magda
Łukasz Sienkiewicz

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6001/fil-soc.2016.27.4.6

Keywords: skills mismatch, overskilling, underskilling, generations, labour market, new member states

Abstract

In the paper we investigate differences in the skills mismatch in the new and old EU member states. We look at the influence of their different socio-economic characteristics, in particular age and educational attainment, on the level of skills mismatch and link these to the patterns of economic development, in particular the economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe. The results of our analysis show that workers in the NMS compared to the EU-15 have a higher risk of underskilling and a lower risk of overskilling in all age groups. The differences between the two sets of countries are larger for older workers and smaller for younger ones. This indicates that there may be a gradual convergence of the skills match patterns on the European labour market for younger generations and educational levels.