IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/bejmac/v13y2013i1p18n21.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Overeducation and skill-biased technical change

Author

Listed:
  • Cuadras-Morató Xavier

    (Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona GSE, Economics and Business, Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27 Barcelona 08015, Spain)

  • Mateos-Planas Xavier

    (Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance, Mile End Road, London E14NS, UK)

Abstract

There is evidence that rising overeducation has coincided with rapid skill-biased technical change (SBTC). This paper shows that a SBTC can cause a rise in overeducation as firms looking for educated workers become more selective and turn down the less skilled candidates. This result, while consistent with the evidence, is in contrast with the implications of recent search and matching models of the labor market. Here we present a model of a segmented labor market, with imperfect correlation between the individual ability and the observed education of workers, and a fixed cost of setting up a job. A numerical illustration for the US in the period 1970–1990 demonstrates that overeducation rises and that it can in turn be significant for the response of unemployment rates and wage inequality to a SBTC.

Suggested Citation

  • Cuadras-Morató Xavier & Mateos-Planas Xavier, 2013. "Overeducation and skill-biased technical change," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-18, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:13:y:2013:i:1:p:18:n:21
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/bejm.2013.13.issue-1/bejm-2013-0020/bejm-2013-0020.xml?format=INT
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.
    ---><---

    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. Arnaud Chevalier & Joanne Lindley, 2009. "Overeducation and the skills of UK graduates," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 172(2), pages 307-337, April.
    2. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2003. "The skill content of recent technological change: an empirical exploration," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue Nov.
    3. Michael Peters, 2010. "Noncontractible Heterogeneity in Directed Search," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(4), pages 1173-1200, July.
    4. Mortensen, Dale T & Pissarides, Christopher A, 1999. "Unemployment Responses to 'Skill-Biased' Technology Shocks: The Role of Labour Market Policy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(455), pages 242-265, April.
    5. Juan J. Dolado & Marcel Jansen & Juan F. Jimeno, 2009. "On‐the‐Job Search in a Matching Model with Heterogeneous Jobs and Workers," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(534), pages 200-228, January.
    6. Daron Acemoglu, 1999. "Changes in Unemployment and Wage Inequality: An Alternative Theory and Some Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1259-1278, December.
    7. Fabián Slonimczyk, 2013. "Earnings inequality and skill mismatch in the U.S.: 1973–2002," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 11(2), pages 163-194, June.
    8. Maarten Goos & Alan Manning, 2007. "Lousy and Lovely Jobs: The Rising Polarization of Work in Britain," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(1), pages 118-133, February.
    9. Lawrence F. Katz & Kevin M. Murphy, 1992. "Changes in Relative Wages, 1963–1987: Supply and Demand Factors," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 107(1), pages 35-78.
    10. Eric D. Gould, 2002. "Rising Wage Inequality, Comparative Advantage, and the Growing Importance of General Skills in the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(1), pages 105-147, January.
    11. Shouyong Shi, 2002. "A Directed Search Model of Inequality with Heterogeneous Skills and Skill-Biased Technology," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(2), pages 467-491.
    12. Mark P. Moore & Priya Ranjan, 2005. "Globalisation vs Skill-Biased Technological Change: Implications for Unemployment and Wage Inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(503), pages 391-422, April.
    13. Chassamboulli Andri, 2011. "Cyclical Upgrading of Labor and Employment Differences across Skill Groups," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-42, May.
    14. Lex Borghans & Andries de Grip (ed.), 2000. "The Overeducated Worker?," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1860.
    15. Melissa Osborne & Herbert Gintis & Samuel Bowles, 2001. "The Determinants of Earnings: A Behavioral Approach," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1137-1176, December.
    16. Xavier Cuadras-Morató & Xavier Mateos-Planas, 2006. "Skill Bias And Employment Frictions In The U.S. Labor Market 1970-1990 ," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(1), pages 129-160, February.
    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. Xavier Cuadras Morató & Xavier Mateos-Planas, 2006. "Wage Inequality and Unemployment with Overeducation," Working Papers 249, Barcelona School of Economics.
    2. 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.
    3. Mateos-Planas, Xavier & Cuandras-Morato, Xavier, 2009. "Wage inequality and unemployment with overeducation," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 0911, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    4. Mateos-Planas, Xavier & Cuandras-Morato, Xavier, 2009. "Wage inequality and unemployment with overeducation," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 911, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    5. Fabián Slonimczyk, 2013. "Earnings inequality and skill mismatch in the U.S.: 1973–2002," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 11(2), pages 163-194, June.
    6. Richard Holt, 2020. "The Costs of Mismatch," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 298, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
    7. Davide Consoli & Francesco Vona & Francesco Rentocchini, 2016. "That was then, this is now: skills and routinization in the 2000s," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(5), pages 847-866.
    8. Antonio Martins-Neto & Nanditha Mathew & Pierre Mohnen & Tania Treibich, 2021. "Is There Job Polarization in Developing Economies? A Review and Outlook," CESifo Working Paper Series 9444, CESifo.
    9. Eric D Gould, 2019. "Explaining the Unexplained: Residual Wage Inequality, Manufacturing Decline and Low-skilled Immigration," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(619), pages 1281-1326.
    10. Hornstein, Andreas & Krusell, Per & Violante, Giovanni L., 2005. "The Effects of Technical Change on Labor Market Inequalities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 20, pages 1275-1370, Elsevier.
    11. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Melissa S. Kearney, 2005. "Trends in U. S. Wage Inequality: Re-Assessing the Revisionists," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2095, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    12. Ipsita Roy & Davide Consoli, 2018. "Employment Polarization in Germany: Role of Technology, Trade and Human Capital," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(2), pages 251-279, June.
    13. Xavier Cuadras Morató & Xavier Mateos Planas, 2003. "Are changes in education important for the wage premium and unemployment?," Economics Working Papers 707, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    14. Huanxing Yang, 2020. "Targeted search, endogenous market segmentation, and wage inequality," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 69(2), pages 367-414, March.
    15. Basco, Sergi & Mestieri, Martí, 2013. "Heterogeneous trade costs and wage inequality: A model of two globalizations," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2), pages 393-406.
    16. Blázquez, Maite & Jansen, Marcel, 2008. "Search, mismatch and unemployment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 498-526, April.
    17. Yip, Chi Man, 2010. "Can't SBTC explain the U.S. wage inequality dynamics?," MPRA Paper 31198, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Sean E. Mulholland, 2019. "Stratification by regulation: Are bootleggers and Baptists biased?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 105-130, July.
    19. Carlos Medina & Christian Posso, 2010. "Technical Change and Polarization of the Labor Market: Evidence for Brazil, Colombia and Mexico," Borradores de Economia 614, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    20. Anders Frederiksen & Odile Poulsen, 2016. "Income Inequality: The Consequences Of Skill-Upgrading When Firms Have Hierarchical Organizational Structures," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(2), pages 1224-1239, April.

    More about this item

    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:bpj:bejmac:v:13:y:2013:i:1:p:18:n:21. 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: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    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.