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

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  • Peter J. Sloane

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

Abstract

There is evidence that many college graduates are employed in jobs for which a degree is not required, and in which the skills they learned in college are not being fully used. Most of the literature on educational or skill mismatch is based on cross-sectional data, providing information at just one point in time. Drawing meaningful conclusions about mismatch, its dynamics, and its relationship to wages, job satisfaction, and job mobility requires panel data, which can reach more nuanced conclusions by allowing for individual differences, e.g. choosing a job because it offers compensation.

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  • Peter J. Sloane, 2014. "Overeducation, skill mismatches, and labor market outcomes for college graduates," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-88, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:n:88
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Maté Fodor, 2016. "Essays on Education, Wages and Technology," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/239691, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Samia FERHAT, 2022. "The impact of university openings on labor market outcomes," THEMA Working Papers 2022-18, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    3. 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).
    4. Sholeh A. Maani & Le Wen, 2021. "Over-education and immigrant earnings: a penalized quantile panel regression analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(24), pages 2771-2790, May.
    5. 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.
    6. Prateek Kukreja, 2018. "Skill Mismatch and Returns to Education in Manufacturing: A Case of India's Textile and Clothing Industry," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Working Paper 364, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, India.
    7. 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.
    8. Zineb Draissi & Yu Rong & Mohammed Abker Ebrahim Suliman, 2023. "Employability and Education Mismatch in the Moroccan Urban Workplace," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    9. Vichet Sam, 2018. "Education-job mismatches and their impacts on job satisfaction: An analysis among university graduates in Cambodia," Working Papers hal-01839463, HAL.
    10. Zineb Draissi & Yu Rong, 2023. "Estimating the Determinants and Extent of Morocco’s Education and Skill Mismatch Through the STEP Survey," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.
    11. 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.
    12. Jelena Stankoviæ & Marija Džuniæ & Srðan Marinkoviæ, 2021. "Urban employment in post-transition economies: skill mismatch in the local labor market," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 39(2), pages 279-297.
    13. Paulina Broniatowska, 2021. "Wage Effects of Overeducation: Evidence from Poland," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 13(1), pages 25-53, March.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. Syed Zwick, Hélène, 2020. "Resilience Strategies for Mismatched Workers: Microeconomic Evidence from Egypt," GLO Discussion Paper Series 477, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    17. 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, June.
    18. Yih‐chyi Chuang & Chia‐Yu Liang, 2022. "Overeducation and skill mismatch of university graduates in Taiwan," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1693-1712, August.
    19. Petya Ilieva-Trichkova & Pepka Boyadjieva, 2021. "The Fragile Axes of Life: A Capability Approach Perspective towards Graduates’ Education–Job Mismatches and Subjective Well-Being," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, July.
    20. Anneleen Vandeplas & Anna Thum-Thysen, 2019. "Skills Mismatch and Productivity in the EU," European Economy - Discussion Papers 100, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    21. Agnieszka Chlon-Dominczak & Andrzej Zurawski, 2017. "Measuring skills mismatches revisited – introducing sectoral approach," IBS Working Papers 03/2017, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    22. 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.
    23. 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.
    24. Hugh Cassidy & Amanda Gaulke, 2024. "The increasing penalty to occupation‐education mismatch," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(2), pages 607-632, April.
    25. 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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