Overeducation at the start of the career: Stepping stone or trap?

Abstract

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Scars of recessions in a rigid labor market

“…Hence, these unlucky generations are trapped in these lower quality jobs and definitely miss the opportunity to be hired in career jobs with a steeper seniority pay profile. In line with this hypothesis, the aforementioned study of Baert et al (2013) demonstrates that young unemployed graduates who accept a job for which they are overeducated remain trapped in these jobs for many years. This explains why the wage penalty rises over time rather than gradually fades, as in more flexible labor markets (Genda et al, 2010;Oreopoulos et al, 2012).…”

“…We observe that the wage penalty rises steadily (and significantly) from then onwards, starting at -3.2% after three years and attaining -4.4% after ten years. The initial wage penalty suggests that high educated graduates are forced to accept lower quality jobs for which they are possibly overeducated (see Baert et al (2013) for evidence on this using the same survey data) and which pay lower wages.…”

Educational expansion and the education gradient in health: A hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis

“…Empirical evidence, however, does not univocally support this individualistic perspective (e.g. Baert et al, 2013). At early stages, over-education can be a stumbling block instead of a stepping stone.…”

Overqualification of graduates: assessing the role of family background

“…As shown by Berlingieri and Erdsiek (2012), overqualified graduates more often accepted a job in order to avoid unemployment than matched graduates. Baert et al (2013) point out that being overqualified shortly after graduation K delays the transition into an adequate job. One explanation could be that overqualification sends an even more negative productivity signal to potential employers than unemployment (McCormick 1990).…”