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Reaching for the stars and settling for the moon

Recent trends in overeducation of US workers 2002-2016

Bibliographic Data

ID21696551
AuthorsNader Habibi (0000-0002-8666-2085, Brandeis University), Arnold Kamis (0000-0002-4222-9730, Data Analytics, International Business School, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA., corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume34
Issue2
Pages143-157
Publication date2021-02-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Education & Work (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-0004 • E-ISSN: 1469-9435
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13639080.2021.1897551
OpenAlexW3142838758
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited11

In this study we investigate the educational attainment of the labour force in the United States. Our data analysis, based on Bureau of Labour Statistics data in more than 700 occupations, produced two important findings. First, we observed that the Overeducation Ratio (share of employees that are overeducated), which began to rise in the United States as early as 1970, continued its positive trend in many occupations during 2002–2016. Second, our regression analysis revealed a positive correlation between the overeducation ratio and the median earnings of an occupation. Since a larger overeducation ratio implies that a larger share of adequately educated individuals are crowded out, this result suggests that the displacement of adequately educated individuals is more severe in better paying occupations. Third, we analysed the overflow of graduate degree holders into occupations that require a bachelor’s degree. We observe that graduate degree holders are crowding out the bachelor’s degree holders from better paying bachelor’s occupations. The bachelor’s degree holders, in turn, are crowding out high school graduates from better paying high school jobs

Bachelor · Bachelor degree · Crowding · Demographic economics · Descriptive statistics · Earnings · Economic growth · Economics · Educational attainment · Higher education · Labour economics · Management · Marital status · Political science · Population · Sociology · Statistics · Demography · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Psychology · Retirement, Disability, and Employment

  • Impact of earnings and self-employment opportunities on overeducation

    Arnold Kamis, Nader Habibi•British Journal of Education & Work•2022

  • Elite career expectations of adolescents

    Open Access•Luyang Guo, Kit‐Tai Hau•Journal of Adolescence•2024

  • Unraveling the perceived overqualification puzzle

    Open Access•Woo Seok Im, Sung Mo Kang et al.•Acta Psychologica•2023

  • Trap versus trade-off

    Open Access•Yann Zhang, Yangyang Liu et al.•Frontiers in Sociology•2026

  • Over-Education, Job Satisfaction, and Intention to Quit

    Open Access•Zhidi Pan, Yan Wang et al.•Social Indicators Research•2024

  • Europe’s Education-to-Work Transition Regimes in the Twenty-First Century

    Open Access•Ken Roberts•Advances in Applied Sociology•2025

  • Workers, jobs, and how they are matched

    Open Access•Lina Tobler, Julia Leesch•Social Science Research•2026

  • Overeducation and Social Integration Among Highly Educated Migrant Workers in China

    Open Access•Lijuan Chen, Jie Hu•Social Indicators Research•2023

  • Education and jobs

    Ivar E Berg•Education and jobs•2003

  • Overeducation and Underemployment

    Herbert L Smith•Sociology of Education•1986

  • Education and its Discontents

    Vaisey, S Vaisey•Social Forces•2006

  • The Over-Educated American

    Harry F Silberman, Robert Freeman et al.•American Educational Research…•1977

  • Job Market Signaling

    Michael Spence•The Quarterly Journal of Economics•1973

  • The Social and Political Consequences of Overeducation

    Val Burris•American Sociological Review•1983

  • Who Benefits Most from College

    Open Access•J E Brand, Yu Xie•American Sociological Review•2010

  • Further Evidence on Education and Job Satisfaction

    Norval D Glenn, Charles N Weaver•Social Forces•1982

Unique citing works8
Citations per year2
Citation span2022 - 2026 (5)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 8

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