Overeducation, major mismatch, and return to higher education tiers: Evidence from novel data source of a major online recruitment platform in China

Zheng, Yanqiao; Zhang, Xiaoqi; Zhu, Yu

doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2021.101584

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Indeed, youth transition is becoming an increasingly important social, economic, and political problem, affecting social policy issues around the globe. The 'over supply' of university graduates in China, as one of the results of the massification of higher education presented in this article, is disappointingly creating 'jobless youth clubs', and has already forced some of the respondents to venture into start-ups and innovation-centric entrepreneurship (Zheng et al, 2020). Nonetheless, will such ventures help restore the 'broken promise' of human capital theory?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The Broken Promise of Human Capital Theory: Social Embeddedness, Graduate Entrepreneurs and Youth Employment in China

Kang¹,

Mok²

2022

Critical Sociology

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Human capital theory has been one of the most influential theories in national policymaking since the 1980s. The major assertion is that individuals can attain better employment outcomes through investing in degrees and credentials. Following the economic reforms of the late 1970s, Chinese families have reverted to the tradition of investing in the education of their children, hoping that the human capital accumulated through higher education will translate into economic capital, enhancing their children’s upward social mobility. However, the rapid expansion of Chinese higher education since 1999 has caused an educational inflation, adversely affecting graduate employment. This article critically examines China’s response to global capitalism through bureaucratic adjustment of higher education expansion in managing the market transition and social reproduction of labour challenges within a relatively short historic period of ‘compressed development’. Without effective articulation between higher education expansion and the changing labour needs during the market transition, the rush to higher education expansion has created different forms of social and economic contradictions. More specifically, this article argues that social embeddedness including parental influence, institutional policies, and social capital are important factors to be considered in explaining the relationship between education and work in the Chinese context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The Broken Promise of Human Capital Theory: Social Embeddedness, Graduate Entrepreneurs and Youth Employment in China

Kang¹,

Mok²

2022

Critical Sociology

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“…This pandemic has caused many people to lose their jobs while graduates looking for work continue to remain unemployed. The mismatch between supply and demand can result in significant imbalances that have far-reaching consequences for both individuals and the nation Zheng et al (2021); Wang et al (2020). There are also long-term effects in the labour market before, during, and after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis to countries involved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More than half of the online job searchers have graduated for more than two years, resulting in a 5.1 percent salary penalty. Zheng, Zhang and Zhu (2021) argued the effect of overeducation on salary varies greatly depending on the quality of the institution, the kind of city, and the match between college major with industry. University graduates with degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) or LEM (Law, Economics, and Management) are the most overeducated and earn a considerable pay premium.…”

Section: Job Market and Economicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Literature Review of Higher Education and Unemployment in Asian Countries

Abdullah¹,

Majid²,

Hussin³

2022

IJAREMS

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A systematic literature review on higher education and unemployment in Asian countries is presented in this paper. It analyses the themes emerging from 31 articles identified through Scopus and the Web of Science database. The review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) approach which provides a comprehensive guideline for systematic review and data collection. The review included research studies published between 2018-2022. Students' expectations, the job market and economics, and education, experience, and skill development were the three categories for the themes. These topics are discussed in depth in this paper and are presented in the literature review. Rather than reiterating the literature review and acknowledging the problem, an approach with a focus on innovative solutions to bridge a gap between graduates, employers, and academic expectations were also presented. This study found that higher education institutions focus on strategies to accelerate graduate competency development to ensure employability. Moreover, in Asian countries, graduate employability is grounded on a strong sense of innovation, collaboration efforts, and government intervention for sustainable economic growth.

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“…While the overeducation rates vary across majors, the overeducation wage penalty becomes insignificant for young graduates once the time-invariant individual characteristics are accounted for, implying lower ability or other unobservable characteristics might account for overeducation in the first place. Zheng et al (2021) provide rare evidence on the differential overeducation rates and earnings penalties in a developing country context. Using major-industry mismatch measures of Chinese online job applicants constructed from word segmentation and dictionary building techniques, they show that about half of Chinese online jobseekers, 90% of which are college graduates, are overeducated by at least two years, with an average 5.1% pay penalty.…”

Section: Wider Labor-market Outcomes and Subject-occupation Mismatchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Returns to Higher Education - Graduate and Discipline Premiums

Zhu

2022

SSRN Journal

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Overeducation, major mismatch, and return to higher education tiers: Evidence from novel data source of a major online recruitment platform in China

Cited by 27 publications

References 40 publications

The Broken Promise of Human Capital Theory: Social Embeddedness, Graduate Entrepreneurs and Youth Employment in China

The Broken Promise of Human Capital Theory: Social Embeddedness, Graduate Entrepreneurs and Youth Employment in China

Systematic Literature Review of Higher Education and Unemployment in Asian Countries

Returns to Higher Education - Graduate and Discipline Premiums

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