To read this content please select one of the options below:

" parent-title="Skill Mismatch in Labor Markets" :mixpanel-data='{"URI":"\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/S0147-912120170000045001\/full\/html","Format":"HTML","Content ID \/ DOI":"10.1108\/S0147-912120170000045001","Content Title":"To Be or Not to Be a Scientist?\n\u2606\n\n","Parent Title":"Skill Mismatch in Labor Markets","Year Of Publication":"2017","Publication Date":"11 May 2017","Access Method":"User","Access Type":"controlled","Parent Type":"book","Parent ID \/ DOI":"10.1108\/S0147-9121201745","pISBN":"978-1-78714-378-4","eISBN":"978-1-78714-377-7","ISBN":"978-1-78714-377-7","Content Type":"segment"}' image="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/book/img/10.1108/S0147-9121201745" content-type="book-part" parent-type="book" isbn="978-1-78714-378-4" issn="" publication-date="11 May 2017" account="" additionalaccount="" opencart_base_url="https://shop.emerald.com/" root="/insight/" country_code="US" origin_view="outside_dropdown" >

To Be or Not to Be a Scientist?

Skill Mismatch in Labor Markets

ISBN: 978-1-78714-378-4, eISBN: 978-1-78714-377-7

Publication date: 11 May 2017

Abstract

Employers regularly complain of a shortage of qualified scientists and advocate that to remain competitive more scientists need to be trained. However, using a survey of graduates from British universities, I report that 3 years after graduation less than 50% of graduates from science subjects are working in a scientific occupation.

Accounting for selection into major and occupation type, I estimate the wages of graduates and report that the wage premium of science graduates only occurs when these graduates are matched to a scientific occupation – and not because science skills are in demand in all occupations. I also provide additional evidence to assess whether science graduates are pushed or pulled into non-scientific occupations. Altogether, the evidence does not support the claim that science graduates are pulled by better conditions, financial or otherwise, into non-scientific jobs.

Keywords

Citation

Chevalier, A. (2017), "To Be or Not to Be a Scientist? ", Skill Mismatch in Labor Markets (Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 45), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0147-912120170000045001

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited