Overeducation and College Major: Expanding the Definition of Mismatch between Schooling and Jobs

Abstract

In this paper we expand the concept of educational mismatch to incorporate both the quantity and type of schooling into a measure of the distance between schooling and work. The wage effects increase as the distance between schooling and work increases, suggesting heterogeneity of both schooling and workers among the overeducated. The transferability of skills between college major and occupation, as well as the reason for accepting the position, is also examined