Evidence on gender inequality in the labor market is extensive. However, little is known about the potential role of overeducation and horizontal mismatch in explaining women's labor-market disadvantages. We draw on recent data from the Eurograduate pilot survey to investigate the role of overeducation, field-of-study mismatch and field-specific…

This paper analyzes the labor market impact of the Great Recession on overeducated and undereducated workers. In March 2008, the U.S. economy was near full employment with an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent. The next year, the unemployment rate peaked at 10.0 percent. The pace of the economic decline allows us to observe the workers'…

This report analyses the challenges faced by young people in Serbia in their transition from school to adult life, especially in their labour market integration, and with a particular focus on the most vulnerable groups. Therefore, the report looks at the main causes of youth vulnerability and skills mismatches at younger ages, forecasting of…

In the difficult current socio-economic context, overqualified graduates are increasingly facing challenges in terms of entering the job market and finding jobs which fit their levels of qualifications and satisfaction. Grounded in an auto-ethnography approach, this paper reflects on the challenges that the author (a young female European PhD…

This article explores the influence of social origin on overeducation across various fields of study. With the expansion of higher education most advantaged classes seek qualitative and quantitative advantages to differentiate themselves from other graduates. Although credentials are direct signals of productivity they can also be viewed by…

This study investigates the incidence of over-education amongst recent Australian bachelor degree graduates and its effect on their earnings. We find that between 24% and 37% of graduates were over-educated shortly after course completion, with over-education most common amongst young females and least common amongst older females. Over-education…

A theoretical approach is formulated that connects various theories of why education has an effect on labour market outcomes with institutional settings in which such theories provide the most likely mechanism. Three groups of mechanisms are distinguished: education as an indicator of productive skills, as a positional good and as a means for…

What is the value of an education? Volume 4 of the Handbooks in the Economics of Education combines recent data with new methodologies to examine this and related questions from diverse perspectives. School choice and school competition, educator incentives, the college premium, and other considerations help make sense of the investments and…

The last half century has seen a dramatic expansion in access to primary, secondary, and higher education in many nations around the world. Educational expansion is desirable for a country's economy, beneficial for educated individuals themselves, and is also a strategy for greater social harmony. But has greater access to education reduced or…