Overeducated yet underskilled: graduate labour market mismatch in Morocco and Serbia

Ivana Prica, Imane El Ouizgani and Will Bartlett

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Abstract This paper analyses the phenomenon of qualification and skill mismatch among university graduates in two countries in Morocco and Serbia. These countries are located within the super-periphery of the EU and face similar challenges in fostering competitive economies capable of trading with and receiving investment from their northern neighbours. Effective skill development and successful labour market matching of university graduates are crucial instruments to meet these challenges. We explore the different dimensions of this requirement based on an analysis of qualification and skill mismatch on the graduate labour market. Our survey reveals simultaneous overqualification and underskilling of university graduates, a high incidence of graduate mismatch combined with low-wage penalties in the public sector, high levels of mismatch and associated relatively high-wage penalties among women graduates, and an amelioration of skill mismatch over time due to on-the-job learning and job switching.

Keywords: Morocco; Serbia; graduate labour markets; higher education systems; qualification mismatch; skill mismatch (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 J24 J31 P52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24 pages
Date: 2025-09-30
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara
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Published in Public Sector Economics, 30, September, 2025, 49(3), pp. 469 - 492. ISSN: 2459-8860

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/129922/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

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Journal Article: Overeducated yet underskilled: graduate labour market mismatch in Morocco and Serbia (2025)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:129922

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