IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecoedu/v29y2010i2p236-245.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Over-education: What influence does the workplace have?

Author

Listed:
  • Belfield, Clive

Abstract

The wage and job satisfaction impacts for over-educated workers have been well-documented; yet little attention has been paid to the consequences for firms. In this paper we examine over-education from the perspective of the workplace. Using linked employer-employee data for the United Kingdom, we derive the standard worker-level penalties on wages and job satisfaction. We then show how over-education rates across workplaces adversely influence workplace pay and workplace labor relations. For individual workers who may be at-risk of over-education, we also distinguish between workforce composition effects and workplace labor practices, such as hiring. The effect of over-education on job satisfaction is particularly strong and its effects are evident at the workplace level. Our results suggest that investigations of over-education at the level of the firm are a promising area of inquiry.

Suggested Citation

  • Belfield, Clive, 2010. "Over-education: What influence does the workplace have?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 236-245, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:29:y:2010:i:2:p:236-245
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272-7757(09)00100-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hartog, Joop, 2000. "Over-education and earnings: where are we, where should we go?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 131-147, April.
    2. Brynin, Malcolm & Longhi, Simonetta, 2009. "Overqualification: Major or minor mismatch?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 114-121, February.
    3. Bauer, Thomas K., 2002. "Educational mismatch and wages: a panel analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 221-229, June.
    4. John Robst, 1995. "Career Mobility, Job Match, and Overeducation," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 21(4), pages 539-550, Fall.
    5. Dolton, Peter & Vignoles, Anna, 2000. "The incidence and effects of overeducation in the U.K. graduate labour market," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 179-198, April.
    6. Rubb, S., 2003. "Overeducation in the labor market: a comment and re-analysis of a meta-analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 621-629, December.
    7. Lindley, Joanne, 2009. "The over-education of UK immigrants and minority ethnic groups: Evidence from the Labour Force Survey," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 80-89, February.
    8. H. Battu & C. R. Belfield & P. J. Sloane, 1999. "Overeducation Among Graduates: a cohort view," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 21-38.
    9. Arnaud Chevalier, 2003. "Measuring Over-education," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 70(279), pages 509-531, August.
    10. Rubb, Stephen, 2003. "Overeducation: a short or long run phenomenon for individuals?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 389-394, August.
    11. Rumberger, Russell W., 1981. "The rising incidence of overeducation in the U.S. Labor market," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 293-314, June.
    12. H. Battu & P. J. Sloane, 2004. "Over‐Education and Ethnic Minorities in Britain," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 72(4), pages 535-559, July.
    13. Groeneveld, Sandra & Hartog, Joop, 2004. "Overeducation, wages and promotions within the firm," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(6), pages 701-714, December.
    14. Harminder Battu & Clive R. Belfield & Peter J. Sloane, 2003. "Human Capital Spillovers within the Workplace: Evidence for Great Britain," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 65(5), pages 575-594, December.
    15. Mendes de Oliveira, M. & Santos, M. C. & Kiker, B. F., 2000. "The role of human capital and technological change in overeducation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 199-206, April.
    16. Tsang, Mun C. & Levin, Henry M., 1985. "The economics of overeducation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 93-104, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kiersztyn, Anna, 2013. "Stuck in a mismatch? The persistence of overeducation during twenty years of the post-communist transition in Poland," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 78-91.
    2. Zainizam Zakariya & Kristinn Hermanssons & Kho Yin Yin & Noor Fazlin Mohamed Noor, 2019. "Regional Economic Growth in Malaysia: Does Aggregate Overqualification Matter?," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(5), pages 139-156, December.
    3. Zainizam Zakariya & Khoo Yin Yin, 2016. "Over- and Underskilling in the Malaysian Labour Market: Evidence from the 2003–2012 Labour Force Survey (LFS)," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 6(11), pages 203-223, November.
    4. Theresa Geißler & Laszlo Goerke, 2023. "Educational Mismatch and Labour Market Institutions: The Role of Gender," Working Papers 2023.14, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    5. David Boto-García & Marta Escalonilla, 2022. "University education, mismatched jobs: are there gender differences in the drivers of overeducation?," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(3), pages 861-902, October.
    6. Seamus McGuinness & Konstantinos Pouliakas & Paul Redmond, 2018. "Skills Mismatch: Concepts, Measurement And Policy Approaches," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 985-1015, September.
    7. Berhe Mekonnen Beyene and & Tsegay Gebrekidan Tekleselassie, 2018. "The State, Determinants, and Consequences of Skills Mismatch in the Ethiopian Labour Market," Working Papers 021, Policy Studies Institute.
    8. Budría, Santiago & Martínez de Ibarreta, Carlos, 2020. "Educational and Skills Mismatches among Immigrants: The Impact of Host Language Proficiency," IZA Discussion Papers 13030, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. McGuinness, Seamus & Pouliakas, Konstantinos & Redmond, Paul, 2017. "How Useful Is the Concept of Skills Mismatch?," IZA Discussion Papers 10786, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Ana Isabel Moro-Egido, 2020. "Gender Differences in Skill Mismatches," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 235(4), pages 29-60, December.
    11. Budría, Santiago & Martínez-de-Ibarreta, Carlos, 2021. "Education and skill mismatches among immigrants: The impact of host language proficiency," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Oliver Fabel & Razvan Pascalau, 2013. "Recruitment of Seemingly Overeducated Personnel: Insider--Outsider Effects on Fair Employee Selection Practices," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 57-82, February.
    13. Kostas Mavromaras & Seamus McGuinness & Nigel O'Leary & Peter Sloane & Zhang Wei, 2013. "Job Mismatches and Labour Market Outcomes: Panel Evidence on University Graduates," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(286), pages 382-395, September.
    14. Yeasung Jeong & Ayoung Lee & Joonmo Cho, 2018. "Educational mismatches and job resolution in South Korea, the USA, and Germany," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 32(2), pages 95-108, November.

    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. Léné, Alexandre, 2011. "Occupational downgrading and bumping down: The combined effects of education and experience," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 257-269, April.
    2. L. Cattani & G. Guidetti & G. Pedrini, 2014. "Assessing the incidence and wage effects of overeducation among Italian graduates using a new measure for educational requirements," Working Papers wp939, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    3. Baert, Stijn & Cockx, Bart & Verhaest, Dieter, 2013. "Overeducation at the start of the career: Stepping stone or trap?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 123-140.
    4. Verhaest, Dieter & Schatteman, Tom, 2010. "Overeducation in the early career: an analysis using sequence techniques," Working Papers 2010/09, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit Economie en Management.
    5. Kiersztyn, Anna, 2013. "Stuck in a mismatch? The persistence of overeducation during twenty years of the post-communist transition in Poland," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 78-91.
    6. Joanne Lindley & Steven McIntosh, 2008. "A Panel Data Analysis of the Incidence and Impact of Over-education," Working Papers 2008009, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2008.
    7. Kitae Sohn, 2010. "The Role of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills in Overeducation," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 124-145, June.
    8. Altorjai, Szilvia, 2013. "Over-qualification of immigrants in the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2013-11, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    9. Michela Vecchi & Catherine Robinson & Maja Savic & Marina Romiti, 2023. "Vertical and Horizontal Mismatch in the UK: Are Graduates' Skills a Good Fit for Their Jobs?," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 548, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    10. Juan Acosta-Ballesteros & María del Pilar Osorno-del Rosal & Olga María Rodríguez-Rodríguez, 2018. "Overeducation of Young Workers in Spain: How Much Does the First Job Matter? Social Indicators Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 109-139, July.
    11. Hung, Chia-Yu, 2008. "Overeducation and undereducation in Taiwan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 125-137, April.
    12. Ingrid Linsley, 2005. "Overeducation in the Australian Labour Market : Its Incidence and Effects," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 939, The University of Melbourne.
    13. Michela Vecchi & Maja Savic & Marina Romiti, 2021. "Skill mismatch among UK graduates," Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) Discussion Papers ESCoE DP-2021-11, Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE).
    14. Joanne Lindley & Steven McIntosh, 2010. "Is the Over-Education Wage Penalty Permanent?," Working Papers 2010004, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2010.
    15. Galasi, Péter, 2009. "A túl- és az alulképzés bérhozama 25 európai országban [Returns for over-education and under-education for 25 European countries]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(3), pages 197-215.
    16. Brian Clark & Clément Joubert & Arnaud Maurel, 2017. "The career prospects of overeducated Americans," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-29, December.
    17. repec:kap:iaecre:v:11:y:2005:i:1:p:93-109 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Galasi, Péter, 2004. "Túlképzés, alulképzés és bérhozam a magyar munkaerőpiacon, 1994-2002 [Over-education, under-education and wage premiums on the Hungarian labour market, 1994-2002]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 449-471.
    19. Ingrid Linsley, 2005. "Causes of Overeducation in the Australian Labour Market," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 940, The University of Melbourne.
    20. Pamela Lenton, 2011. "Part time employment and happiness: A cross-country analysis," Working Papers 2011001, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2011.
    21. Shujaat Farooq, 2015. "Job Mismatches in Pakistan: Is there Some Wage Penalty to Graduates?," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 54(2), pages 147-164.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Over-education Job satisfaction;

    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:eee:ecoedu:v:29:y:2010:i:2:p:236-245. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/econedurev .

    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.