IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v122y2026ics0738059326000714.html

The returns to education and the wage effect from overeducation in Trinidad and Tobago: A pseudo-panel approach

Author

Listed:
  • Doon, Roshnie A.
  • Scicchitano, Sergio

Abstract

A highly educated public sector workforce can enhance innovation and problem-solving. However, underpaid and underemployed public sector workers may experience frustration and stagnation, leading to job dissatisfaction and high employee turnover. While much research exists on the returns to education and overeducation in developed countries, evidence from developing nations in the Caribbean is limited. To fill this gap in the literature, this study examined the returns to education and overeducation among public-sector workers in Trinidad and Tobago, using CSSP data from 1991 to 2015. Using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Quantile Regression (QR), Recentred Influence Function (RIF) methodologies, and a Pseudo-Panel approach, this study found that the average return to education for public-sector workers was 19.2%. Overeducated public sector workers' earnings, while positive, varied by their birth year, with those born between 1935 and 1942 and 1943–1950 earning less than those born in 1975–1982, and 1983–1990.

Suggested Citation

  • Doon, Roshnie A. & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2026. "The returns to education and the wage effect from overeducation in Trinidad and Tobago: A pseudo-panel approach," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:122:y:2026:i:c:s0738059326000714
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2026.103561
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059326000714
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2026.103561?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or

    for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

    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:injoed:v:122:y:2026:i:c:s0738059326000714. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    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.