Definition and Theories of Skill Mismatch
The study of over- and under-skilling is part of the broader academic discussion on the extent, determinants and impact of mismatches between the knowledge and skills acquired in education and the competences required at work. A significant part of such debate, arguably initiated by Thurow (1975) and Freeman (1976), focuses on postsecondary graduates due to the greater importance of specialism knowledge and the greater distinction between the skill profiles of the different fields of study. Such mismatches are not only widespread (Mateos-Romero and Salinas-Jiménez 2018) but have since been shown to have significant consequences on workers’ earnings, productivity, career progression, and job satisfaction.
Skill Mismatch and Human Capital Theory
The interest in the topic stems from the challenge that such misalignments pose to a frictionless or...
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Figueiredo, H. (2019). Over-Skilling, Under-Skilling, and Higher Education. In: Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_115-1
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