Objective over-education and worker well-being: A shadow price approach
Abstract
This paper examines, for a sample of Flemish school leavers, the relation between objective over-education and job satisfaction by applying a shadow price approach. We differentiate between direct effects of over-education and indirect effects via other job characteristics that are associated with over-education. Additional fixed-effects estimates are executed to account for individual heterogeneity. The utility consequences of over-education are found to be large and cannot be compensated by a reasonable wage increase at the start of the first employment. These outcomes suggest that, at labour-market entry, over-education is largely involuntary, and is likely to induce negative productivity costs. The negative consequences of over-education are also found to diminish with years of work experience.Download Info
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Bibliographic Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Economic Psychology.
Volume (Year): 30 (2009)
Issue (Month): 3 (June)
Pages: 469-481
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/joep
Related research
Keywords: Over-education Mismatch Under-employment Job satisfaction Well-being Shadow price;Other versions of this item:
- D. Verhaest & E. Omey, 2008. "Objective overeducation and worker well-being: a shadow price approach," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 08/514, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
- J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Freeman, Richard B, 1978.
"Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable,"
American Economic Review,
American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 135-41, May.
- Richard B. Freeman, 1978. "Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable," NBER Working Papers 0225, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Allen, Jim & van der Velden, Rolf, 2001.
"Educational Mismatches versus Skill Mismatches: Effects on Wages, Job Satisfaction, and On-the-Job Search,"
Oxford Economic Papers,
Oxford University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 434-52, July.
- Allen, Jim & Velden, Rolf van der, 2001. "Educational mismatches versus skill mismatches: effects on wages, job satisfaction, and on-the-job search," Open Access publications from Maastricht University urn:nbn:nl:ui:27-13571, Maastricht University.
- D. Verhaest & E. Omey, 2004. "What determines measured overeducation?," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 04/216, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
- Clark, Andrew E & Oswald, Andrew J, 1994. "Unhappiness and Unemployment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(424), pages 648-59, May.
- Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Paul Frijters, 2002.
"How important is Methodology for the Estimates of the Determinants of Happiness?,"
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
02-024/3, Tinbergen Institute.
- Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Paul Frijters, 2004. "How Important is Methodology for the estimates of the determinants of Happiness?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(497), pages 641-659, 07.
- Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Bernard M.S. van Praag, 2002.
"The subjective costs of health losses due to chronic diseases. An alternative model for monetary appraisal,"
Health Economics,
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(8), pages 709-722.
- Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Bernard M. S. van Praag, 2001. "The Subjective Costs of Health Losses Due to Chronic Diseases: An Alternative Model for Monetary Appraisal," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 262, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
- Clark, Andrew E. & Oswald, Andrew J., 1996.
"Satisfaction and comparison income,"
Journal of Public Economics,
Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 359-381, September.
- Clark, Andrew E. & Oswald, Andrew J., 1994. "Satisfaction and comparison income," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Couverture Orange) 9408, CEPREMAP.
- Andrew E. Clark and Andrew J. Oswald, . "Satisfaction and Comparison Income," Economics Discussion Papers 419, University of Essex, Department of Economics.
- Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Bernard M.S. van Praag, 2002. "The Subjective Costs of Health Losses due to Chronic Diseases," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 02-023/3, Tinbergen Institute.
- Bernard M.S. van Praag & P. Frijters & A. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, 2002.
"The Anatomy of Subjective Well-being,"
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
02-022/3, Tinbergen Institute.
- van Praag, B. M. S. & Frijters, P. & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A., 2003. "The anatomy of subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 29-49, May.
- Bernard M. S. van Praag & P. Frijters & Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell, 2001. "The Anatomy of Subjective Well-Being," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 265, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
- D. Verhaest & E. Omey, 2004.
"The impact of overeducation and its measurement,"
Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium
04/215, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
- Dieter Verhaest & Eddy Omey, 2006. "The Impact of Overeducation and its Measurement," Social Indicators Research, Springer, vol. 77(3), pages 419-448, 07.
- Cohn, Elchanan & Ng, Ying Chu, 2000. "Incidence and wage effects of overschooling and underschooling in Hong Kong," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 159-168, April.
- Khan, Linda J. & Morrow, Paula C., 1991. "Objective and subjective underemployment relationships to job satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 211-218, May.
- Buchel, Felix, 2002. "The effects of overeducation on productivity in Germany -- the firms' viewpoint," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 263-275, June.
- Tsang, Mun Chiu, 1987. "The impact of underutilization of education on productivity: A case study of the U.S. Bell companies," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 239-254, June.
- Clark, Andrew E. & Oswald, Andrew J., 1998. "Comparison-concave utility and following behaviour in social and economic settings," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 133-155, October.
- Sicherman, Nachum & Galor, Oded, 1990.
"A Theory of Career Mobility,"
Journal of Political Economy,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(1), pages 169-92, February.
- Oded Galor & Nachum Sicherman, 1988. "A Theory of Career Mobility," University of Chicago - George G. Stigler Center for Study of Economy and State 51, Chicago - Center for Study of Economy and State.
- Hersch, Joni, 1991. "Education Match and Job Match," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(1), pages 140-44, February.
- Vieira, José A. Cabral, 2005. "Skill mismatches and job satisfaction," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 39-47, October.
- Tsang, Mun C. & Levin, Henry M., 1985. "The economics of overeducation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 93-104, April.
Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Kampelmann, Stephan & Rycx, Francois, 2012. "The Impact of Educational Mismatch on Firm Productivity: Evidence from Linked Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 7093, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Stijn Baert & Bart Cockx & Dieter Verhaest, 2012.
"Overeducation at the Start of the Career - Stepping Stone or Trap?,"
CESifo Working Paper Series
3825, CESifo Group Munich.
- Baert, Stijn & Cockx, Bart & Verhaest, Dieter, 2012. "Overeducation at the Start of the Career: Stepping Stone or Trap?," IZA Discussion Papers 6562, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Baert, Stijn & Cockx, Bart & Verhaest, Dieter, 2012. "Overeducation at the start of the career - stepping stone or trap?," Working Papers 2012/27, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit Economie en Management.
- S. Baert & B. Cockx & D. Verhaest, 2012. "Overeducation at the start of the career - stepping stone or trap?," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 12/787, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
- Stijn BAERT & Bart COCKX & Dieter VERHAEST, 2012. "Overeducation at the start of the career - stepping stone or trap?," Discussion Papers (IRES - Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales) 2012012, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
- Aleksander Kucel & Montserrat Vilalta-Bufi, 2012. "Why do university graduates regret their study program? A comparison between Spain and the Netherlands," Working Papers in Economics 279, Universitat de Barcelona. Espai de Recerca en Economia.
- D. Verhaest & E. Omey, 2012. "The relationship between formal education and skill acquisition in young workers’ first jobs," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 12/768, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
- Blázquez, Maite & Budría, Santiago, 2011. "Deprivation and Subjective Well-being: Evidence from Panel Data," Working Papers in Economic Theory 2011/08, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Department of Economic Analysis (Economic Theory and Economic History).
- Verhaest, Dieter & Omey, Eddy, 2009. "The relation between formal education and skill acquisition in young workers first job," Working Papers 2009/07, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit Economie en Management.
- 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.
Lists
This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.Statistics
Access and download statisticsCorrections
When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:30:y:2009:i:3:p:469-481For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Wendy Shamier).
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 references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.
If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link 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 profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

