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IZA
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The Theory of Differential Overqualification: Does it Work?
by
Felix Büchel, Harminder Battu
(June 2002)
published in: Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 2003, 50 (1), 1-16
Abstract:
The theory of differential overqualification, developed by Robert Frank (1978), claims that
married women in smaller labor markets have a higher risk of working in jobs for which they
are overqualified. This stems from the problem of dual job search for couples which is much
more difficult to optimize than single job search. Here, for several reasons husbands tend to
first optimize their individual job search. Their wives are "tied movers" or "tied stayers" in the
sense that their job search is undertaken under the condition that the job search of their
husbands is optimized. This leads especially in smaller labor markets to a higher risk of a
mismatch between formal qualifications and job requirements. The only specific empirical test
of this theory, until now, has been performed by McGoldrick and Robst (1996). Their results,
using US data, do not support the theory. Using German panel data (GSOEP), we also test
the theory of differential overqualification. Unlike previous studies we control for commuting
distances and our own results provide some mixed support for the differential
overqualification hypothesis.
Text: See Discussion Paper No. 511
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