Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/272706 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16079
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
College-educated workers in jobs unrelated to their degree generally receive lower wages compared to well-matched workers. Our analysis of data from the National Survey of College Graduates shows that although the rate of this mismatch declined only slightly (19% to 17%), the wage penalty increased by 51% between 1993 and 2019. Changes in the composition of field of study over time, as well as declining returns to "excess" education above what is required for the occupation both help to explain the increasing penalty, especially for women. Mismatch has become more closely associated with lowerreturn occupations for men but not women.
Subjects: 
education mismatch
field of study
wage penalty
JEL: 
J24
I26
I23
J31
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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