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Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

Mauricio Cortez Reis

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between educational mismatch and labor earnings in Brazil, taking into account individual fixed effects.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between educational mismatch and labor earnings in Brazil, taking into account individual fixed effects.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis employs longitudinal data and information provided by job analysts about the schooling required for each occupation. The latter of which is used to classify workers as undereducated, overeducated, or adequately matched. Estimates include individual fixed effects to control for time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity.

Findings

Evidence indicates that one more year of overeducation increases labor earnings, but only half as strong as one more year of required schooling. The estimated effects on years of undereducation are negative, but undereducated workers earn more than adequately matched workers with the same level of education. Although, in particular, the incidence of undereducation in Brazil is much higher than reported for developed countries, the impact of over- and undereducation does not differ.

Research limitations/implications

The fixed effects approach only controls for unobservable factors that are time-invariant. Also, much lower impacts using fixed effects may be due in part to attenuation bias as a consequence of measurement errors.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the scarce literature on the consequences of overeducation and undereducation for labor earnings in developing countries, providing estimates that take into account individual fixed effects.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 31 December 2010

Barry R. Chiswick and Paul W. Miller

The payoff to schooling among the foreign born in the United States is only around one-half of the payoff for the native born. This paper examines whether this differential is…

Abstract

The payoff to schooling among the foreign born in the United States is only around one-half of the payoff for the native born. This paper examines whether this differential is related to the quality of the schooling immigrants acquired abroad. The paper uses the overeducation/required education/undereducation specification of the earnings equation to explore the transmission mechanism for the origin-country school-quality effects. It also assesses the empirical merits of two alternative measures of the quality of schooling undertaken abroad. The results suggest that a higher quality of schooling acquired abroad is associated with a higher payoff to schooling among immigrants in the US labor market. This higher payoff is associated with a higher payoff to correctly matched schooling in the United States, and a greater (in absolute value) penalty associated with years of undereducation. A set of predictions is presented to assess the relative importance of these channels, and the undereducation channel is shown to be the more influential factor. This channel is linked to greater positive selection in migration among those from countries with better quality schools. In other words, it is the impact of origin-country school quality on the immigrant selection process, rather than the quality of immigrants' schooling per se, that is the major driver of the lower payoff to schooling among immigrants in the United States.

Details

Migration and Culture
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-153-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2000

Wim Groot and H.M. van den Brink

Over the past years a number of studies have appeared on the incidence and returns to overeducation in the labor market. In these studies various definitions of educational…

1242

Abstract

Over the past years a number of studies have appeared on the incidence and returns to overeducation in the labor market. In these studies various definitions of educational mismatches have been used. In this paper we analyze the validity and reliability of three of these definitions. It is found that the definitions differ widely in the workers who are identified as over‐ or undereducated. Further, the methods yield different estimates of the returns to over‐ and undereducation.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 21 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 June 2016

Marco Pecoraro

The purpose of this paper is to propose an improved concept of educational mismatch that combines a statistical measure of over- and undereducation with the worker’s…

1094

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an improved concept of educational mismatch that combines a statistical measure of over- and undereducation with the worker’s self-assessment of skill utilization. The novelty of this measurement approach consists in identifying the vertical and horizontal nature of skills mismatch, that is, a mismatch in which skills are either over/underutilized or not utilized.

Design/methodology/approach

Cross-sectional data from the Swiss Household Panel survey for the years 1999 and 2004 are used to determine the true extent of educational mismatch among workers. Moroever, different versions of the Duncan and Hoffman wage equation are estimated depending on whether basic or alternative measures of educational mismatch are included.

Findings

The empirical analyses provide the following results: first, at least two-third of the statistically defined overeducated workers perceive their skills as adequate for the job they hold and are then apparently overeducated; second, overeducated workers whose skills are not related to the job do not receive any payoff to years of surplus education; and third, apparently overeducated workers have similar wage returns compared to others with the same schooling level but who are statistically matched. All in all, these findings confirm that most of those overeducated according to the statistical measure have unobserved skills that allow them to work in a job for which they are well-matched.

Originality/value

The paper indicates the need to consider both vertical and horizontal skill mismatches when measuring educational mismatch in the labour market. In that way, it is possible to account for worker heterogeneity in skills whose omission may generate biased estimates of the incidence and wage effects of over- and undereducation.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 37 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2003

Ying Chu Ng

Using the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, the incidence of skills mismatches in the Canadian workforce was found to be about 27 percent. The overeducated (undereducated…

764

Abstract

Using the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, the incidence of skills mismatches in the Canadian workforce was found to be about 27 percent. The overeducated (undereducated) were found to earn less (more) than their adequately educated counterparts. The overeducated could realize a wage gain by finding the “right” job, while the undereducated would gain by adjusting their skill level. Based on the Oaxaca decomposition, it was concluded that better skills allocation would help to narrow gender wage differentials.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

Philipp Grunau

Many contributions to the educational mismatch literature address the productivity effects of both excess and deficit educational attainments for workers at the individual level…

Abstract

Purpose

Many contributions to the educational mismatch literature address the productivity effects of both excess and deficit educational attainments for workers at the individual level. Due to the limited transferability of their results to establishment-level performance, especially when allowing for the possibility of spillover effects from mismatched workers to their well-matched colleagues, from an employer’s point of view, it is highly important to know the net effect of educationally mismatched employees on productivity at the establishment level. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses the impact of overeducated and undereducated workers among an establishment’s workforce on its productivity, providing first representative evidence for Germany. Using linked employer-employee data from Germany, the author estimates dynamic panel production functions using a system GMM estimator.

Findings

The author finds that undereducated workers among an establishment’s workforce impair its (establishment-level) productivity, implying that an establishment’s HR management should avoid the recruitment of undereducated workers, at least if they follow a short-term personnel policy. The effect for overeducated employees is also negative, albeit small and insignificant.

Originality/value

The consideration of the phenomena of over and undereducation from the employer’s point of view provides further insight into the consequences of educational mismatch.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2012

Gian Carlo Cainarca and Francesca Sgobbi

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the incidence of educational mismatch in Italy and the return to investment in education, controlling for employees’ ability. Contrary to…

1538

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the incidence of educational mismatch in Italy and the return to investment in education, controlling for employees’ ability. Contrary to most existing studies, the heterogeneity of individual performance is measured directly through the assessment of required and provided skills.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on original data including over 3,600 face‐to‐face interviews, this paper appraises the incidence of self‐assessed educational mismatch in the Italian private sector and estimates wage models of the economic returns to educational mismatch, skill requirements and provided skills.

Findings

In Italy, under‐educated employees outnumber over‐educated ones and returns to required education and over‐education are lower than in other industrialised countries. Individual heterogeneous ability, as captured by individual skills, is a significant determinant of wage, although the inclusion of direct measures of required and provided skills does not substantially affect the estimated coefficients of the return to investment in education.

Practical implications

The omission of controls for the heterogeneous ability of employees biases the results of traditional ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates of wage models. However, the bias may be small enough to make simple OLS estimates on existing cross‐sectional data an acceptable compromise to provide policy makers with reasonably accurate and up‐to‐date information.

Originality/value

The paper provides a direct appreciation of individual heterogeneity that other studies can capture only through sophisticated indirect econometric techniques. In addition, the paper extends the set of available cross‐country comparisons by estimating the educational mismatch and the returns to educational and skill mismatches in the overall Italian private labour market.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2013

Lourdes Badillo‐Amador and Luis E. Vila

This paper aims to highlight the relevance of examining education and skill job‐worker mismatches as two different, although simultaneous, phenomena of the labor market. Most…

4762

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight the relevance of examining education and skill job‐worker mismatches as two different, although simultaneous, phenomena of the labor market. Most previous literature does not take into account skill mismatch, and a number of papers deal with both kinds of mismatches as equivalent.

Design/methodology/approach

Spanish data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) survey for the year 2001 are used to examine the degree of statistical association between both education and skill mismatches, and to estimate wage equations as well as job satisfaction equations, considering satisfaction with pay, with the type of job and overall job satisfaction, in order to analyze the consequences of both types of mismatches from the workers’ viewpoint.

Findings

The statistical analysis shows that education and skill mismatches are weakly related in the Spanish labor market. The econometric analysis reveals that skill mismatches appear as key determinants of workers’ job satisfaction, while education mismatches have much weaker impacts, if any, on workers’ job satisfaction; however, both skill and education mismatches have negative impacts on wages.

Practical implications

The analysis points out that the research strategy that considers education mismatch as a proxy for the study of the effects of skill mismatch is rather weak because skill and education mismatches appear to capture different aspects of the accuracy of the job‐worker pairing, and, therefore, they have separate consequences for workers, both in monetary and non‐monetary terms. Skill mismatches are perceived by workers as a much more relevant problem than education mismatches. The wage and job satisfaction consequences of skill mismatches are strongly negative; to the contrary, education mismatches show much weaker effects.

Originality/value

The paper emphasizes that neglecting the effects of skill mismatch along with those of education mismatch in the analysis of the monetary and non‐monetary consequences of inadequate job‐worker pairing can lead to erroneous interpretations of the facts.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 June 2022

Chitalu Miriam Chama-Chiliba, Mwimba Chewe, Kelvin Chileshe, Hilary Chilala Hazele and Abdelkrim Araar

This paper aims to study the relationship between working while studying in college/university and education mismatch among employed youth in the Zambian labour market.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the relationship between working while studying in college/university and education mismatch among employed youth in the Zambian labour market.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses data from the 2014 School-to-Work Transition Survey and a multinomial logit model to examine three education-mismatch categories: undereducated, matched and overeducated. The paper also examines heterogeneities by education level and gender and uses empirical and subjective approaches of education mismatch.

Findings

The evidence shows that employed youth who worked while studying have a higher likelihood of having well-matched jobs. The subgroup analysis by education level reveals no significant relationship between working while studying among employed youth with higher education (secondary and above). However, employed youth with lower education (primary and lower) are less likely to be mismatched for the job. The linkage between the education system and the labour market needs to be strengthened to support a smoother school-to-work transition for youth. Additional support to enable exposure to the right type of work during youth's college or university studies could increase job match and reduce labour market inefficiencies.

Originality/value

The paper provides insights into a significant challenge faced by youth in developing countries, i.e. finding a suitable job for youth's level of education.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 44 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 August 2021

Zineb Draissi, Qi Zhanyong and Princess Zarla Jurado Raguindin

This paper aims to understand the development track of skills mismatch research and discover the hidden internal connections between literature.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to understand the development track of skills mismatch research and discover the hidden internal connections between literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors gathered data through scientometric quantitative analysis using CiteSpace. Specifically, this article applied basic analysis, journal cocitation analysis (JCA), author cocitation analysis (ACA) and document cocitation analysis (DCA), cluster analysis, citation burstness detection, scientific research cooperation analysis and coconcurrence analysis of keywords of 3,125 documents from Web of Science core collections for the period 2000–2020.

Findings

Through the document cocitation analysis and the keywords' co-occurrence, this article identifies influential scholars, documents, research institutions, journals and research hotspots in research on the skills mismatch phenomenon. The results showed that the publications had ballooned, and the phenomenon has become an interdisciplinary research subject. The USA and Finland remain the main contributors, which is attributed to their high-yield institutions such as the University of Helsinki, the University of Witwatersrand, the University of Washington and so on. While the African continent lacks research on skills mismatch even with the continent’s effort to overcome such a crucial issue. The paper presents an in-depth analysis of skills and educational mismatch issues to better understand the evolutionary trajectory of the collective knowledge over the past 20 years and highlight the areas of active pursuit.

Research limitations/implications

The authors only used Web of Science core collection to collect data; however, they can added Scopus indexed database as well to extend the research trends and explore more new research hot topics to solve the skills mismatch phenomenon.

Originality/value

The scientometric analysis is of great significance for identifying the potential relationship between the literature and investigating the knowledge evolution of skills mismatch research. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization are the giants who are mostly concerned of the mismatch skills phenomenon. Researchers can refer to this study to understand the status quo, gaps and research trends to deal with the skills mismatch issue.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

1 – 10 of 61