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Does over-education raise productivity and wages equally? The moderating role of workers’ origin and immigrants’ background

Author

Listed:
  • Valentine Jacobs
  • Kevin Pineda-Hernández
  • François Rycx
  • Mélanie Volral

Abstract

We provide first evidence of the impact of over-education, among natives and immigrants, on firm-level productivity and wages. Our results show that the over-education wage premium is higher for natives than for immigrants. However, since the differential in productivity gains associated with over-education outweighs the corresponding wage premium differential, we conclude that over-educated native workers are in fact underpaid to a greater extent than their over-educated immigrant counterparts. This conclusion is refined by sensitivity analyses, when testing the role of immigrants’ background (e.g. region of birth, immigrant generation).

Suggested Citation

  • Valentine Jacobs & Kevin Pineda-Hernández & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2023. "Does over-education raise productivity and wages equally? The moderating role of workers’ origin and immigrants’ background," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 698-724, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:edecon:v:31:y:2023:i:6:p:698-724
    DOI: 10.1080/09645292.2022.2156981
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard Fabling & David C Maré & Philip Stevens, 2022. "Migration and firm-level productivity," Working Papers 2022/01, New Zealand Productivity Commission.
    2. Roshnie Doon & Sergio Scicchitano, 2025. "The effects of overeducation on wage distribution in Trinidad and Tobago: an unconditional quantile regression analysis," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 15(1), pages 163-195, March.
    3. Tianzhi Gao & Hui Feng, 2024. "Examining the impact of job matching on workers’ non-cognitive skills: insights from China’s labor market," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    4. Louise Devos & Louis Lippens & Dries Lens & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral & Stijn Baert, 2025. "Labour Market Disadvantages of Citizens with a Migration Background in Belgium: A Systematic Review," De Economist, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 121-175, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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