The role of human capital and technological change in overeducation

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2000

Authors

Manuel Mendes de Oliveira (Author) FEP; Santos, MC (Author) Other; Kiker, BF (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Economics of Education Review

Vol. 19 No. 2

Pages: 199-206

ISSN: 0272-7757

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 34 Citations

Scopus - 42 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-001-0D8

DOI: 10.1016/s0272-7757(99)00020-5

Abstract (EN): We employ Portuguese data to test two competing hypotheses about the impact of overeducation and undereducation on earnings. First, undereducation is the outcome of a process in which market-acquired capital substitutes for insufficient school-supplied qualifications, whereas overeducation is associated with excess schooling but short tenure and job experience. The second hypothesis calls upon changes in the technology of production and marketing to explain why some workers end up as inadequately educated for the tasks that they perform, while at the same time, others (holding identical jobs but more schooling) are perceived to be overeducated. Our findings appear to leave little room for explanations of the overeducation/undereducation phenomenon rooted in the trade-off between different forms of human capital. The hypothesis of technology-induced pockets of overeducation and undereducation is consistent with Portuguese reality, characterized in the last decade by intensive efforts to promote economic growth, to modernize the industrial structure and to upgrade educational qualifications. [JEL J24, I21, O30]

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 8