Research
Research
Identifying literacy and numeracy skill mismatch in OECD countries using the job analysis method (with Rolf van der Velden, Tim Huijts and Babs Jacobs), Oxford Economic Papers, Volume 76, Issue 3, July 2024, Pages 859–876,
Abstract:
The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is currently the most important data source that provides information on the key skills possessed by workers, including literacy and numeracy. However, to assess skill mismatch, we also need information on the required skills in those domains, measured in the same metric and scale. In this article, we use the Job Analysis Method (JAM) to determine the required skill levels of literacy and numeracy for all four-digit International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) 2008 unit groups. JAM is often considered the ‘gold standard’ in estimating required levels but has never been used in the context of PIAAC. This article thus presents the first results on the prevalence of skill mismatches using JAM comparing different OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and different occupations. We compare our results with alternative methods and show some advantages of using JAM. We discuss some of the limitations as well.
JEL classifications: I26, J24
Required literacy and numeracy skill levels for occupations in OECD countries (with Rolf van der Velden, Tim Huijts and Babs Jacobs), ROA Technical Report No. 008, 2020
Abstract:
The data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are the leading source for information on skill proficiency levels for individuals in modern economies. The PIAAC data are unique in combining a validated assessment-based measurement of skills with coverage of a large number of OECD countries. However, to estimate skill mismatch, one also needs to have information on the required skill level in the occupations in which these individuals work. While there is some information on required skill levels in occupations with respect to the domains of literacy and numeracy from other sources (e.g. the requirements regarding Reading Comprehension and Mathematics in the US Occupational Information Network O*NET), this information does not match with the definition of literacy and numeracy in PIAAC, nor does it provide those skill levels in the same metric as the PIAAC skill proficiency scales, which is essential to derive skill mismatch estimates. Consequently, the aim of the project presented in this technical report was to apply the Job Analysis Method to the case of skill mismatch. Through the application of this method, occupational experts determined the critical skill level required for all occupational unit groups in the International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (ISCO-08) using the same framework that was applied to asses individuals’ skill proficiency levels in PIAAC. In future steps of the project, the newly determined literacy and numeracy skill requirements per occupational unit group is matched to the actual literacy and numeracy skill levels of the respondents in the PIAAC data, and can then be used to derive new estimates of the incidence of skill mismatch.
The role of the intergenerational transmission of cultural values on study choice preferences: A discrete choice experiment (with Didier Fouarge and Annemarie Künn-Nelen)
Abstract:
Differences in career and study choice across various ethnicities partly explain heterogeneous labour market returns to education. In this paper, we analyse the extent to which different study choices are driven by the intergenerational transmission of cultural values. Whereas the importance of intergenerational transmission of preferences has already been proven for career outcomes, we are the first to show that the intergenerational transmission of cultural values impacts study choice preferences. We follow the epidemiological approach, comparing second generation migrants with native Dutch individuals in order to isolate the effect of cultural background. Based on the model of economics of cultural transmission, we assume that mothers born outside the Netherlands transmit their cultural values to their children. Making use of a discrete choice experiment, we analyse whether vocational education and training graduates in the Netherlands whose mothers come from a different culture have different study choice preferences, and make different trade-offs between their field of study interests and career prospects. Following the Hofstede framework, we focus on two main cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance and motivation towards achievement and success. In line with our expectations, our results show that students coming from either an uncertainty avoidant culture or an achievement-driven culture have a stronger preference for good labour market outcomes over the match between their field of study and own interests (relative to native Dutch respondents), although there is some heterogeneity by gender.
JEL classification: J15, J24, I23, I24
Keywords: Study choice, Vocational Education and Training (VET), Culture dimensions, Intergenerational transmission, Uncertainty avoidance, Motivation towards achievement and success
Labour Market Information and Study Choice: One-size-fits-all? (with Didier Fouarge and Annemarie Künn-Nelen), AEA RCT Registry, 2023
Abstract:
Career guidance is essential for an informed study choice. Information on labour demand (e.g., wages) is particularly relevant in order to help youngsters make study choice that fit current and future demand. However, experiments that make such labour market information available to youngsters do not always have the expected effect, suggesting that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Responsiveness to such information is likely to depend on personal characteristics (e.g., gender and migration background), time and risk preferences and skill level (e.g., numeracy, literacy, graph literacy or economic literacy), as well as on the way the information is presented. In collaboration with one of the largest career guidance platforms in the Netherlands, we conduct a field experiment for 15-year-old students to investigate what format of presenting wage information has the strongest effect on study choice. Our experiment aims at expanding the literature in two ways. First, we analyse what format of labour market information has the strongest effect on study choice. We distinguish between a pictograph (bar chart vs. icon arrays), a (neutral or colourful) ladder or a table in providing wage information for occupations. We hypothesize that the effects depend on gender, socio-economic status, time and risk preferences and migration background. Second, we analyse to what extent the potential heterogeneous effects are driven by differences in numeracy, literacy, graph literacy and economic literacy skills. This enables us to distinguish whether different individuals make intrinsically different choices, or whether different choices are a result of different skill levels. We hypothesize that at least part of the effect of making different choices is the result of different skill levels. We would like to investigate whether differences in skills can fully explain the expected differences in responsiveness towards labour market information. This insight would not only contribute to scientific literature, but would be also highly valuable for policy makers as it provides directions on how to reduce inequality of opportunities by improving the way career guidance is provided.
JEL classification: J24, I23, I26
Keywords: Study choice, Education, Labour, Information