IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp10051.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Much Ado About Nothing? The Wage Effect of Holding a Ph.D. Degree But Not a Ph.D. Job Position

Author

Listed:
  • Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio

    (University of Naples L’Orientale)

  • Lubrano Lavadera, Giuseppe

    (University of Salerno)

  • Pastore, Francesco

    (Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli)

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature on overeducation by empirically investigating its effects on wages among Ph.D. holders. We analyze data collected in 2009 by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) through a large cross-sectional survey of Ph.D. recipients that allowed us observing their work placement few years after the completion of their studies. We extend previous contributions by providing an analysis based on the identification of genuine overeducation as resulting from the interaction of respondents' assessments that concern the usefulness of their Ph.D. title in order to get and to carry out their current job. The potential endogeneity of self-reported genuine overeducation is corrected by using an instrumental variables approach where the provincial incidence of overeducation among those that share the same educational profile of respondents is used as instrument. Our results suggest that genuine over-education is particularly detrimental for individual wages. It leads to a wage penalty of about between 23% and 25%, more than twice bigger than average, a sizeable gap for the country's compressed wage structure. These results allow us to better understanding the effects of job-education mismatch and provide some useful insights into the evaluation of the career outcomes of doctoral graduates.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio & Lubrano Lavadera, Giuseppe & Pastore, Francesco, 2016. "Much Ado About Nothing? The Wage Effect of Holding a Ph.D. Degree But Not a Ph.D. Job Position," IZA Discussion Papers 10051, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10051
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp10051.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christopher F Baum & Mark E. Schaffer & Steven Stillman, 2003. "Instrumental variables and GMM: Estimation and testing," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 3(1), pages 1-31, March.
    2. Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), 2011. "Handbook of the Economics of Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 4, number 4, June.
    3. Caroleo, Floro Ernesto & Pastore, Francesco, 2015. "Overeducation: A Disease of the School-to-Work Transition System," IZA Discussion Papers 9049, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2004. "Returns to investment in education: a further update," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 111-134.
    5. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2012. "Talking about the Pigou paradox," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(1), pages 27-50, March.
    6. Lucifora, Claudio & Comi, Simona Lorena & Brunello, Giorgio, 2000. "The Returns to Education in Italy: A New Look at the Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 130, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Stock, James H & Wright, Jonathan H & Yogo, Motohiro, 2002. "A Survey of Weak Instruments and Weak Identification in Generalized Method of Moments," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(4), pages 518-529, October.
    8. Gianluca Argentin & Gabriele Ballarino & Sabrina Colombo, 2014. "Investire in formazione dopo la laurea: il dottorato di ricerca in Italia," Working Papers 60, AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium.
    9. Marco Pecoraro, 2014. "Is There Still a Wage Penalty for Being Overeducated But Well-matched in Skills? A Panel Data Analysis of a Swiss Graduate Cohort," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 28(3), pages 309-337, September.
    10. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2012. "Overeducation at a glance. Determinants and wage effects of the educational mismatch, looking at the AlmaLaurea data," Discussion Papers 18_2012, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    11. Psacharopoulos, George, 1994. "Returns to investment in education: A global update," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(9), pages 1325-1343, September.
    12. Laudeline Auriol, 2010. "Careers of Doctorate Holders: Employment and Mobility Patterns," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2010/4, OECD Publishing.
    13. Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta, 2015. "Was it worth it? An empirical analysis of over-education among PhD recipients in Italy," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(3), pages 222-238, March.
    14. repec:bla:econom:v:70:y:2003:i:279:p:509-531 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Antonio Di Paolo & Ferran Mañé, 2014. "Are we wasting our talent? Overqualification and overskilling among PhD graduates," Working Papers XREAP2014-06, Xarxa de Referència en Economia Aplicada (XREAP), revised Jun 2014.
    16. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    17. Duncan, Greg J. & Hoffman, Saul D., 1981. "The incidence and wage effects of overeducation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 75-86, February.
    18. Richard Blundell & Lorraine Dearden & Costas Meghir & Barbara Sianesi, 1999. "Human capital investment: the returns from education and training to the individual, the firm and the economy," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 20(1), pages 1-23, March.
    19. Barbara Sianesi & John Van Reenen, 2003. "The Returns to Education: Macroeconomics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 157-200, April.
    20. Caroleo, Floro Ernesto & Pastore, Francesco, 2011. "Talking about the Pigou Paradox: Socio-Educational Background and Educational Outcomes of AlmaLaurea," IZA Discussion Papers 6021, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Colm Harmon & Hessel Oosterbeek & Ian Walker, 2003. "The Returns to Education: Microeconomics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 115-156, April.
    22. Kostas Mavromaras & Seamus McGuinness & Nigel O'Leary & Peter Sloane & Zhang Wei, 2013. "Job Mismatches and Labour Market Outcomes: Panel Evidence on University Graduates," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(286), pages 382-395, September.
    23. Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta, 2013. "Matching Advanced Studies to the Skills Required for Work: The Case of PhD. Graduates in Italy," Economia dei Servizi, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 177-188.
    24. Aina, Carmen & Pastore, Francesco, 2012. "Delayed Graduation and Overeducation: A Test of the Human Capital Model versus the Screening Hypothesis," IZA Discussion Papers 6413, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2018. "Overeducation at a Glance. Determinants and Wage Effects of the Educational Mismatch Based on AlmaLaurea Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 999-1032, June.
    2. Alfano, Vincenzo & Cicatiello, Lorenzo & Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio & Pinto, Mauro, 2019. "The gender wage gap among PhD holders: an empirical examination based on Italian data," GLO Discussion Paper Series 393, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Barbara Ermini & Luca Papi & Francesca Scaturro, 2017. "An Analysis of the Determinants of Over-Education Among Italian Ph.D Graduates," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 3(2), pages 167-207, July.
    4. Pastore, Francesco, 2018. "New Education Models for the Workforce of the Future," IZA Policy Papers 143, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Pastore, Francesco, 2018. "New Education Models for the Future of Work Force," GLO Discussion Paper Series 267, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta & Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera & Francesco Pastore, 2016. "Much ado about nothing? The wage penalty of holding a Ph.D. degree but not a Ph.D. job position," Discussion Papers 7_2016, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    2. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2018. "Overeducation at a Glance. Determinants and Wage Effects of the Educational Mismatch Based on AlmaLaurea Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 999-1032, June.
    3. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2012. "Overeducation at a glance. Determinants and wage effects of the educational mismatch, looking at the AlmaLaurea data," Discussion Papers 18_2012, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    4. Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta & Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera & Francesco Pastore, 2022. "Overeducation wage penalty among Ph.D. holders: an unconditional quantile regression analysis on Italian data," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 44(6), pages 1096-1117, March.
    5. Barbara Ermini & Luca Papi & Francesca Scaturro, 2017. "An Analysis of the Determinants of Over-Education Among Italian Ph.D Graduates," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 3(2), pages 167-207, July.
    6. Rycx, François & Santosuosso, Giulia & Vermeylen, Guillaume, 2022. "The Over-education Wage Penalty Among PhD Holders: A European Perspective," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1126, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Caroleo, Floro Ernesto & Pastore, Francesco, 2015. "Overeducation: A Disease of the School-to-Work Transition System," IZA Discussion Papers 9049, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Kihong Park & Dooseok Jang, 2017. "The Wage Effects Of Over-Education Among Young Stem Graduates," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(05), pages 1351-1370, June.
    9. Issofou Njifen & Peter Smith, 2024. "Education-Job Mismatch and Heterogeneity in the Return to Schooling: Evidence from Cameroon," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 860-887, March.
    10. Sellami Sana & Verhaest Dieter & Nonneman Walter & Van Trier Walter, 2017. "The Impact of Educational Mismatches on Wages: The Influence of Measurement Error and Unobserved Heterogeneity," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 1-20, February.
    11. Joaquin Turmo-Garuz & M.-Teresa Bartual-Figueras & Francisco-Javier Sierra-Martinez, 2019. "Factors Associated with Overeducation Among Recent Graduates During Labour Market Integration: The Case of Catalonia (Spain)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 1273-1301, August.
    12. Tushar Agrawal, 2011. "Returns to education in India: Some recent evidence," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2011-017, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    13. Strawinski, Pawel, 2008. "External Return to Education in Poland," MPRA Paper 11598, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Christian K. Darko & Kennedy K. Abrokwa, 2020. "Do you really need it? Educational mismatch and earnings in Ghana," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 1365-1392, November.
    15. Jacek Liwiński & Emilia Bedyk, 2016. "Does it pay to invest in the education of children?," Ekonomia journal, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, vol. 47.
    16. Tinh Doan & Quan Le & Tuyen Quang Tran, 2018. "Lost in Transition? Declining Returns to Education in Vietnam," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(2), pages 195-216, April.
    17. Duval, Romain & de la Maisonneuve, Christine, 2010. "Long-run growth scenarios for the world economy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 64-80, January.
    18. Manuel Salas Velasco, 2004. "Rendimientos privados de las inversiones en educación superior a partir de ecuaciones de ingresos," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 169(2), pages 87-117, June.
    19. Inmaculada Garc�a Mainar & V�ctor M. Montuenga G�mez, 2004. "Returns to education and to experience within the EU: are there differences between wage earners and the self-employed?," Documentos de Trabajo dt2004-08, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Zaragoza.
    20. Mueller, Normann, 2007. "(Mis-)Understanding Education Externalities," MPRA Paper 5331, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Mar 2007.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    job-education mismatch; genuine overeducation; overskilling; job satisfaction; wages; Ph.D. holders;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10051. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.