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

Ivana Prica (), Imane El Ouizgani () and Will Bartlett ()
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Ivana Prica: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Economics and Business, Belgrade, Serbia
Imane El Ouizgani: Ibn Zohr University, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Agadir, Morocco
Will Bartlett: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), European Institute, Hellenic Observatory, London, UK

Public Sector Economics, 2025, vol. 49, issue 3, 469-492

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: ualification mismatch; skill mismatch; higher education systems; graduate labour markets; Morocco, Serbia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 J24 J31 P52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ipf:psejou:v:49:y:2025:i:3:p:469-492

DOI: 10.3326/pse.49.3.6

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