This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Overeducation, undereducation, and the theory of career mobility

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Felix Büchel
Antje Mertens
Abstract

The theory of career mobility (Sicherman and Galor, Journal of Political Economy , 98 (1), 169-92, 1990) claims that wage penalties for overeducated workers are compensated by better promotion prospects. Sicherman ( Journal of Labour Economics , 9 (2), 101-22, 1991) was able to confirm this theory in an empirical study using panel data. However, the only retest using panel data so far (Robst, Eastern Economic Journal , 21 , 539-50, 1995 ) produced rather ambiguous results. In the present paper, random effects models to analyse relative wage growth are estimated using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. It is found that overeducated workers in Germany have markedly lower relative wage growth rates than adequately educated workers. The results cast serious doubt on whether the career mobility model is able to explain overeducation in Germany. The plausibility of the results is supported by the finding that overeducated workers have less access to formal and informal on-the-job training, which is usually found to be positively correlated with wage growth even when controlling for selectivity effects (Pischke, Journal of Population Economics , 14 , 523-48, 2001).

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. 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.

File URL: http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=FW3CWUATVYMXVK9N
File Format: text/html
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

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.

Publisher Info
Article provided by Taylor and Francis Journals in its journal Applied Economics.

Volume (Year): 36 (2004)
Issue (Month): 8 (May)
Pages: 803-816
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:36:y:2004:i:8:p:803-816

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/routledge/00036846.html

Order Information:
Web: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/subscription.html

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please 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.:
  1. Ann P. Bartel & George J. Borjas, 1982. "Wage Growth and Job Turnover: An Empirical Analysis," NBER Working Papers 0285, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Sloane, P J & Battu, H & Seaman, P T, 1996. "Overeducation and the Formal Education/Experience and Training Trade-Off," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 3(8), pages 511-15, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Daly, Mary C. & Buchel, Felix & Duncan, Greg J., 2000. "Premiums and penalties for surplus and deficit education: Evidence from the United States and Germany," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 169-178, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2001. "Continuous training in Germany," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 523-548. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Addison, John T & Portugal, Pedro, 1989. "Job Displacement, Relative Wage Changes, and Duration of Unemployment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(3), pages 281-302, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. 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.
    Other versions:
  8. Sloane, P J & Battu, H & Seaman, P T, 1999. "Overeducation, Undereducation and the British Labour Market," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 31(11), pages 1437-53, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Nachum Sicherman, 1987. "Over-Education in the Labor Market," University of Chicago - George G. Stigler Center for Study of Economy and State 48, Chicago - Center for Study of Economy and State.
    Other versions:
  10. Burda, Michael C. & Mertens, Antje, 2001. "Estimating wage losses of displaced workers in Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 15-41, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Topel, Robert H & Ward, Michael P, 1992. "Job Mobility and the Careers of Young Men," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(2), pages 439-79, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Battu, H. & Belfield, C. R. & Sloane, P. J., . "Overeducation Among Graduates: A Cohort View," Working Papers 98-03, Department of Economics, University of Aberdeen. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please 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.)

  1. repec:ese:iserwp: is not listed on IDEAS
  2. Maite Blazquez & Silvio Rendon, 2006. "Over-Education in Multilingual Economies: Evidence from Catalonia," Working Papers 0607, Centro de Investigacion Economica, ITAM. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Borghans Lex & Golsteyn Bart, 2006. "Skill Transferability Regret and Mobility," Research Memoranda 003, Maastricht : ROA, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Korpi, Tomas & Tåhlin, Michael, 2007. "Educational mismatch, wages, and wage growth: Overeducation in Sweden, 1974-2000," Working Paper Series 10/2007, Swedish Institute for Social Research. [Downloadable!]
  5. 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. [Downloadable!]
  6. Simonetta Longhi & Malcolm Brynin, 2009. "Occupational Change in Britain and Germany," SOEPpapers 204, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [Downloadable!]
  7. George Messinis & Nilss Olekalns, 2007. "Skills Mismatch and Returns to Training in Australia:Some New Evidence," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 997, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? All top Economics journals are listed on RePEc.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-5.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.