Analiza sekwencji aktywności edukacyjno-zawodowych na przykładzie danych pochodzących z wywiadów biograficznych
Sequence analysis of education and work histories: a study of life cycle trajectories in Poland. An inquiry into the biographies of two age groups based on a questionnaire employed in The determinants of educational decisions panel study

Summary/Abstract: Most widely used information on changing trends in the supply and demand for labour is provided through cross-sectional research. However, in spite of the fact that cross-sectional data (e.g. the Labour Force Survey conducted by Eurostat) describes the working, unemployed and economically inactive population in great detail, it is still not sufficient to quantify the influence of individual choices on life cycle trajectories. The main purpose of this article is to elaborate on the concept of trajectories in social sciences using empirical evidence and utilise this theory in order to describe the life cycle of two age groups with reference to educational and professional activities. To the author’s best knowledge, this work is one of the first applications of sequence analysis using data collected in Poland from The determinants of educational decisions panel study. The paper focuses mainly on presenting the research method, and to a lesser extent on the results. Two age groups were selected for the analyses: 35- and 65-year-old respondents. In both age groups, a segment of respondents with long and stable periods of economic inactivity was identified. Using a logistic regression model, the probability rate of belonging to the segment of lengthy inactivity was calculated. For both age groups there was a strong (negative) effect of education, which reduced the chances of intensive inactivity. Gender, as a separate factor, was not statistically significant in either group. The 35-year olds who did not attend kindergarten and women in low and semi-skilled professions (belonging to the 6th and higher ISCO88 occupational groups) were characterised by a significantly higher risk of becoming inactive.

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