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Overqualified, Still Satisfied? Revisiting Job Satisfaction Among Overqualified Migrants

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Abstract

In the context of global population ageing, migrants are increasingly essential to sustaining labour forces across high-income countries. This study investigates the dynamics of overqualification (i.e., when workers have higher qualifications than their job requires) and job satisfaction among migrants, taking Italy - a country with one of the world's oldest populations and a highly segmented labour market - as a case study. We pursue three main goals: (1) to examine the risk of overqualification by migrant background, (2) to analyse how overqualification relates to job satisfaction by migrant status, and (3) to test whether the relationship between the two differs among older natives and migrants. We pay particular attention to migrants'age at arrival - a key factor that can profoundly shape labour market experiences through such mechanisms as educational pathways and integration trajectories. The results show that migrants, especially those who arrived in Italy as adults, face a significantly higher risk of overqualification than natives. However, the negative association between overqualification and job satisfaction is weaker among this group, and particularly among older adult migrants. These findings suggest the emergence of an 'overqualification/job satisfaction paradox', whereby those most exposed to job mismatch appear less affected by its negative consequences. This may be driven by psychological mechanisms- such as adaptation to lower expectations - as well as by selection processes, whereby migrants with more negative experiences may have already exited the host labour market.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleonora Trappolini & Kim Wooseong & Giammarco Alderotti, 2025. "Overqualified, Still Satisfied? Revisiting Job Satisfaction Among Overqualified Migrants," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2025_07, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
  • Handle: RePEc:fir:econom:wp2025_07
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    File URL: https://labdisia.disia.unifi.it/wp_disia/2025/wp_disia_2025_07.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hartog, Joop, 2000. "Over-education and earnings: where are we, where should we go?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 131-147, April.
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    4. David Bartram, 2011. "Economic Migration and Happiness: Comparing Immigrants’ and Natives’ Happiness Gains From Income," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 103(1), pages 57-76, August.
    5. repec:sae:mrxval:v:44:y:2010:i:4:p:869-898 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Goldsmith, Arthur H. & Sedo, Stanley & Darity, William Jr. & Hamilton, Darrick, 2004. "The labor supply consequences of perceptions of employer discrimination during search and on-the-job: Integrating neoclassical theory and cognitive dissonance," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 15-39, February.
    7. Valentine Jacobs & Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2021. "Over-education among immigrants: the role of demographics, time, and firm characteristics," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 61-78, January.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy

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