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Publication Detailed Description
Revisiting the concept of employability through economic theories: Contributions, limitations and policy implications
Journal Title
Higher Education Quarterly
Year (definitive publication)
2021
Language
English
Country
United Kingdom
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Abstract
Graduate employability is an economic concept that strives to link higher education and employment. Economics of education and labour market theories contribute to its definition and provide arguments on its drivers and barriers. However, available studies have focused on human capital theory, which addresses the resources with which graduates should be endowed but overlooks the insights from other theories. This paper not only presents a more comprehensive picture of employability based on economic literature, but also confronts economic-grounded arguments with academic research from other social sciences. It examines screening, signalling, and matching arguments that unveil concepts and factors affecting employability. On the other hand, it adds social and personal constraints that are neglected in the economic literature, notably social and cultural capital that impact access to and the benefits of higher education. The notion of contingent employability is suggested to bring all these factors together.
Acknowledgements
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Keywords
Employability,Dependent employment,Self-employment,Economics of education and labour market,Sociology of higher education
Fields of Science and Technology Classification
- Economics and Business - Social Sciences
- Educational Sciences - Social Sciences
- Sociology - Social Sciences
Funding Records
| Funding Reference | Funding Entity |
|---|---|
| PTDC/SOC-SOC/30016/2017 | Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia |
| UIDB/03127/2020 | Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia |
Related Projects
This publication is an output of the following project(s):
Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations
With the objective to increase the research activity directed towards the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the possibility of associating scientific publications with the Sustainable Development Goals is now available in Ciência-IUL. These are the Sustainable Development Goals identified by the author(s) for this publication. For more detailed information on the Sustainable Development Goals, click here.
