Mapping the (mis)match of university degrees in the graduate labor market

Manuel Salas-Velasco

doi:10.1186/s12651-021-00297-x

Abstract

This paper contributes to the scarce literature on the topic of horizontal education-job mismatch in the labor market for graduates of universities. Field-of-study mismatch or horizontal mismatch occurs when university graduates, trained in a particular field, work in another field at their formal qualification level. The data used in the analysis come from the first nationally representative survey of labor insertion of recent university graduates in Spain. By estimating a multinomial logistic regression, we are able to identify the match status 4 years after graduation based on self-assessments. We find a higher likelihood of horizontal mismatch among graduates of Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Pharmacy, and Languages and Literature. Only graduates in Medicine increase the probability of being adequately matched in their jobs. It may be hypothesized that horizontal mismatch is more likely among those graduates in degree fields that provide more general skills and less likely among those from degree fields providing more occupation-specific skills. Other degrees such as Business Studies, and Management and Economics Studies increase the probability of being vertically mismatched (over-educated). Vertical mismatch preserves at least some of the specific human capital gained through formal educational qualifications. However, some workers with degrees in Labor Relations and Social Work are in non-graduate positions and study areas unrelated to their studies. The paper also shows that graduates in the fields of health sciences and engineering/architecture increase the probability of achieving an education-job match after external job mobility.

Highlights

In most economies, there is a connection between the educational attainment of the labor force and the jobs performed by the workers
Because the number of empirical studies on horizontal mismatch among university graduates is limited, this paper contributes to the scarce existing literature on the topic by providing the taxonomy of educational mismatch in the labor market for university graduates and investigating its incidence among Spanish higher education graduates based on self-assessments
The map of degrees done in this article according to the education-jobmatch is important for the educational policy given that higher education is highly subsidized in Spain

Summary

Introduction

There is a connection between the educational attainment of the labor force and the jobs performed by the workers. Job titles are defined in terms of educational requirements that coincide with the levels of formal education. Of particular interest is to analyze whether the tasks assigned to different positions can be performed effectively with the qualifications provided by the education system or, on the contrary, there is no connection between the contents of the educational curriculum and the contents of the jobs.. The (mis)match between the level of formal education and the level required for the job has been, the focus of substantial research in the labor and education economics literature since the appearance of Freeman’s (1976) book The overeducated American. We focus on the labor market for university graduates. The paper contributes to the understanding of the mismatch between professional (academic) degrees and labor market positions.

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Conclusion