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The over-education wage penalty among PhD holders: a European perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Loredana Cultrera
  • François Rycx
  • Giulia Santosuosso
  • Guillaume Vermeylen

Abstract

Using a unique pan-European dataset, we rely on two alternative measures of over-education and control stepwise for four groups of covariates in order to interpret the over-education wage penalty in light of theoretical models. Firstly, it appears that a significant fraction (i.e. between 1/5 and 1/3) of PhD holders in Europe are genuinely over-educated. Secondly, these genuinely over-educated PhD holders are found to face a substantial wage penalty (ranging from 15 to almost 30%) with respect to their well-matched counterparts. Finally, unconditional quantile regressions highlight that the over-education wage penalty among PhD holders increases greatly along the wage distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Loredana Cultrera & François Rycx & Giulia Santosuosso & Guillaume Vermeylen, 2025. "The over-education wage penalty among PhD holders: a European perspective," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 53-75, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:edecon:v:33:y:2025:i:1:p:53-75
    DOI: 10.1080/09645292.2023.2277120
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    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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