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Overeducation, skill mismatches, and labor market outcomes for college graduates

Author

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  • Peter J. Sloane

    (Swansea University, UK, Adelaide University, Australia, and IZA, Germany)

  • Kostas Mavromaras

    (Future of Employment and Skills Research Centre, University of Adelaide, Australia, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Evidence shows that many college graduates are employed in jobs for which a degree is not required (overeducation), and in which the skills they learned in college are not being fully utilized (overskilling). Policymakers should be particularly concerned about widespread overskilling, which is likely to be harmful to both the welfare of employees and the interests of employers as both overeducation and overskilling can lead to frustration, lower wages, and higher quitting rates while also being a waste of government money spent on education.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter J. Sloane & Kostas Mavromaras, 2020. "Overeducation, skill mismatches, and labor market outcomes for college graduates," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-88, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:2020:n:88
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Prateek Kukreja, 2019. "Skill Mismatch and Returns to Education in Manufacturing: A Case of India’s Textile and Clothing Industry," Working Papers id:13003, eSocialSciences.
    2. Fabo, B., 2017. "Towards an understanding of job matching using web data," Other publications TiSEM b8b877f2-ae6a-495f-b6cc-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    3. Maté Fodor, 2016. "Essays on Education, Wages and Technology," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/239691, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Redmond, Paul & Whelan, Adele, 2017. "Educational Attainment and Skill Utilization in the Irish Labour Market: An EU Comparison," Quarterly Economic Commentary: Special Articles, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    5. Syed Zwick, Hélène, 2020. "Resilience Strategies for Mismatched Workers: Microeconomic Evidence from Egypt," GLO Discussion Paper Series 477, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Valentina Meliciani & Debora Radicchia, 2016. "Overeducation and overskill in the Italian labour market: the role of fields of study," Working Papers 33, Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research, revised Jul 2016.
    7. McQuinn, Kieran & O'Toole, Conor & Economides, Philip & Monteiro, Teresa, 2017. "Quarterly Economic Commentary, Winter 2017," Forecasting Report, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number QEC20174, January.
    8. Anneleen Vandeplas & Anna Thum-Thysen, 2019. "Skills Mismatch and Productivity in the EU," European Economy - Discussion Papers 2015 - 100, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    9. Agnieszka Chlon-Dominczak & Andrzej Zurawski, 2017. "Measuring skills mismatches revisited – introducing sectoral approach," IBS Working Papers 03/2017, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    10. Crecente-Romero, Fernando & Giménez-Baldazo, Mónica & Rivera-Galicia, Luis F., 2018. "Can entrepreneurship channel overqualification in young university graduates in the European Union?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 223-228.
    11. 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.
    12. Vichet Sam, 2018. "Education-job mismatches and their impacts on job satisfaction: An analysis among university graduates in Cambodia," Working Papers hal-01839463, HAL.
    13. SAM, Vichet, 2018. "Education-job mismatches and their impacts on job satisfaction: An analysis among university graduates in Cambodia," MPRA Paper 87928, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Jul 2018.
    14. Carolina Castagnetti & Luisa Rosti & Marina Toepfer, 2017. "Overeducation and the Gender Pay Gap in Italy. A Double Selectivity Approach," DEM Working Papers Series 144, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    15. Wenjing Li & Xuhui Wang & Md Jamirul Haque & Muhammad Noman Shafique & Muhammad Zahid Nawaz, 2020. "Impact of Workforce Diversity Management on Employees’ Outcomes: Testing the Mediating Role of a person’s Job Match," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(1), pages 21582440209, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    overeducation; skill mismatch; overskilling; graduates;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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