Overqualification, job dissatisfaction, and increasing dispersion in the returns to graduate education

Francis Green, Yu Zhu

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    271 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We report increasing dispersion in the returns to graduate education in Britain, and relate this development to rising overqualification. We distinguish 'Real' and 'Formal' overqualification, according to whether it is accompanied by underutilization of skill. Employees in the former group experience greater, and more sharply rising, pay penalties than those in the latter group. Real Overqualification, but not Formal Overqualification, is associated with job dissatisfaction. While Formal Overqualification has been increasing over time, Real Overqualification has been steady or rising only slowly. The normative implication drawn is that the state should provide regular information on the distribution of the returns to graduate education.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article numbergpq002
    Pages (from-to)740-763
    Number of pages24
    JournalOxford Economic Papers
    Volume62
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 9 Feb 2010

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Economics and Econometrics

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