Effect of education–occupation mismatch on happiness

Naiwei Chen, Ho-Chyuan Chen and Shih-Yu Lin

International Journal of Social Economics, 2020, vol. 47, issue 1, 86-110

Abstract: Purpose - Prior research mostly focuses on the effect of over-education on happiness, whereas the effect of under-education on happiness has received minimal attention. In addition, no research to date has examined the effect of both over- and under-education on happiness by using a full spectrum of workers. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to fill this research gap. Design/methodology/approach - The ordered probit model is estimated to examine the effect of the education–occupation mismatch on happiness based on 2012 survey data from Taiwan. Findings - The results generally indicate that over-education positively affects happiness, whereas under-education has a minimal effect. The effect of the education–occupation mismatch on happiness also varies with different age groups. Specifically, over-education positively affects happiness except for workers aged 42 and above, whereas negative effects of under-education are found only among workers aged between 32 and 42 when their social network is insufficiently extensive. Moreover, a worker’s social network as a non-pecuniary factor, rather than income as a pecuniary factor, is a major channel through which education enhances happiness. Originality/value - Given the limited and mixed evidence on the relationship between over-education and happiness, this study contributes to the existing literature by examining whether and how the education–occupation mismatch (over- and under-education) affects the happiness of workers both directly and indirectly via pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors. The research issue remains unexplored to date. Addressing such a question should help explain the persistent trend in pursuing higher education in Taiwan, although highly educated people may suffer from unemployment and an education–occupation mismatch. Peer review - The peer review history for this paper is available at:https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2019-0283

Keywords: Happiness; Over-education; Education–occupation mismatch; Under-education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ijsepp:ijse-04-2019-0283

DOI: 10.1108/IJSE-04-2019-0283

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