IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aoq/ekonom/y2022i1p94-113.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Choosing a Field of Education: Signaling, Mismatch, and Equilibrium Shifting

Author

Listed:
  • Joanna Franaszek

Abstract

In this paper the author reviews a well-known model of job market signaling through education, extending it to a choice of a field of study. In the theoretical part, she extends the classic model, by analyzing a game of education choice with continuum types of agents and discrete space of efforts, which is here interpreted as a field of study at the university level. In the second part, the author provides a simple numerical exercise to show how policy changes may influence the equilibrium. This exercise is used in the context of observed overeducation in the Polish labor market. Given the data on recent alumni’s field of study and professional career, the author calibrates a stylized disutility function that would rationalize the choices within a signaling model with inelastic demand and some unobserved frictions. Then, she provides a simple illustrative argument on how an intervention by a better-informed social planner may shift the equilibrium. The author argues that overeducation may arise if the cost of getting a diploma is too small; this can lead to an over-supply of university graduates as compared with the labor market demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Joanna Franaszek, 2022. "Choosing a Field of Education: Signaling, Mismatch, and Equilibrium Shifting," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 1, pages 94-113.
    • Handle: RePEc:aoq:ekonom:y:2022:i:1:p:94-113
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ekonomista.pte.pl/pdf-150164-75885
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laura Ehrmantraut & Pia Pinger & Renske Stans, 2020. "The Expected (Signaling) Value of Higher Education," Working Papers 2020-070, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    2. Albert Ma, Ching-to & Weiss, Andrew M., 1993. "A signaling theory of unemployment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 135-157, January.
    3. Meroni, Elena Claudia & Vera-Toscano, Esperanza, 2017. "The persistence of overeducation among recent graduates," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 120-143.
    4. Damon Clark & Paco Martorell, 2014. "The Signaling Value of a High School Diploma," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(2), pages 282-318.
    5. Mailath, George J, 1987. "Incentive Compatibility in Signaling Games with a Continuum of Types," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(6), pages 1349-1365, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Meng, Xin & Zhao, Guochang, 2021. "The long shadow of a large scale education interruption: The intergenerational effect," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    2. Cockx, Bart & Robin, Stéphane R. & Goebel, Christian, 2006. "Income Support Policies for Part-Time Workers: A Stepping-Stone to Regular Jobs? An Application to Young Long-Term Unemployed Women in Belgium," IZA Discussion Papers 2432, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Ay, Jean-Sauveur & Le Gallo, Julie, 2021. "The Signaling Values of Nested Wine Names," Working Papers 321851, American Association of Wine Economists.
    4. Christian Schultz, 2003. "Information, Polarization and Delegation in Democracy," CESifo Working Paper Series 1104, CESifo.
    5. Roni Michaely & Stefano Rossi & Michael Weber & Michael Weber, 2017. "The Information Content of Dividends: Safer Profits, Not Higher Profits," CESifo Working Paper Series 6751, CESifo.
    6. Tomas Philipson & John Cawley, 1999. "An Empirical Examination of Information Barriers to Trade in Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 827-846, September.
    7. Shaun M. Dougherty, 2018. "The Effect of Career and Technical Education on Human Capital Accumulation: Causal Evidence from Massachusetts," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 13(2), pages 119-148, Spring.
    8. Carlos Robalo Marques & Rita Duarte, 2009. "Wage and Price Dynamics in the United States and the Euro Area," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    9. Gaetano D’Adamo, 2014. "Wage spillovers across sectors in Eastern Europe," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 523-552, September.
    10. Gabriel J. Felbermayr & Mario Larch & Wolfgang Lechthaler, 2013. "Unemployment in an Interdependent World," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 262-301, February.
    11. Broersma, Lourens & Van Ours, Jan C., 1999. "Job searchers, job matches and the elasticity of matching," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 77-93, March.
    12. Sibert, Anne, 2002. "Monetary policy with uncertain central bank preferences," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 1093-1109, June.
    13. Perez-Truglia, Ricardo, 2013. "A test of the conspicuous–consumption model using subjective well-being data," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 146-154.
    14. De Feo, Giuseppe & Hindriks, Jean, 2014. "Harmful competition in insurance markets," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 213-226.
    15. Julie Hotchkiss, 1999. "The effect of transitional employment on search duration: A selectivity approach," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 27(1), pages 38-52, March.
    16. Sophie van Huellen & Duo Qin, 2019. "Compulsory Schooling and Returns to Education: A Re-Examination," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-20, September.
    17. De Donder, Philippe & Hindriks, Jean, 2007. "Equilibrium social insurance with policy-motivated parties," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 624-640, September.
    18. Inderst, Roman, 2002. "Contractual Signaling in a Market Environment," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 77-98, July.
    19. J. Ignacio García‐Pérez & Fernando Muñoz‐Bullón, 2011. "Transitions into Permanent Employment in Spain: An Empirical Analysis for Young Workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(1), pages 103-143, March.
    20. Philippe Mahenc, 2007. "Are green products over-priced?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 38(4), pages 461-473, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    higher education; labor market; signaling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aoq:ekonom:y:2022:i:1:p:94-113. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tomasz Kwarcinski (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/pteeeea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.