Spatial mobility and overeducation of young workers: New evidence from France

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of spatial mobility on the risk of overeducation of French young workers. Mobilising a survey following a cohort of young graduates entering the labour market in 2010 until 2013, our results reveal that interregional migration decreases the risk of (statistical and subjective) overeducation. We also evidence that migration to an economic centre (the Paris region) has an even stronger negative effect, and that more educated workers benefit more from spatial mobility. These results are robust to controlling for self‐selection and the endogeneity of migration, as well as to various specifications of the model.