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The Utilization of Education and Skills: Evidence from Britain
Author(s) -
Green Francis,
McIntosh Steven,
Vignoles Anna
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
the manchester school
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.361
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1467-9957
pISSN - 1463-6786
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9957.00325
Subject(s) - economics , order (exchange) , inflation (cosmology) , education policy , labour economics , economics education , education economics , vocational education , higher education , economic growth , finance , physics , theoretical physics
This paper assesses how far the products of education are utilized in the British labour market, and how utilization has recently changed. We distinguish the concepts of ‘under–education’, ‘over–education’ and ‘qualification inflation’. Using data from four surveys we find that over–education, while substantial, has been stable since the mid–1980s. Although observed over–education is partly associated with low ability compared with one’s educational peers, both over–education and skill under–utilization are also associated with mismatch in the labour market, and both involve a loss of wages. We conclude that, in order to inform policy, education and skill utilization should be closely monitored.