Unraveling the Nexus between Overeducation and Depressive Symptoms in China: The Roles of Perceived Fairness of Earnings and Job Autonomy

Xiaohang Zhao (), Yang Feng (), Lei Jin and Skylar Biyang Sun
Additional contact information
Xiaohang Zhao: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Yang Feng: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Lei Jin: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Skylar Biyang Sun: University of International Business and Economics

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2024, vol. 19, issue 4, No 18, 1877-1902

Abstract: Abstract The global expansion of educational systems has led to a growing prevalence of overeducation. Despite the well-documented overeducation-depression nexus in the developed world, scholars have paid much less attention to this relationship in developing countries. This study utilized data from the China Labor-Force Dynamis Survey (CLDS) 2016 and China’s 1% Population Sample Survey 2015 to explore the mechanisms linking overeducation to depressive symptoms and identify factors buffering the strength of this association. Employing causal inference methods, including instrumental variable regression and propensity score matching, we find a positive impact of overeducation on depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis shows that low personal income and perceived fairness of earnings act as mediators, aligning with perspectives of wage penalty and distributive justice within the context of overeducation. Moreover, interaction effects suggest a stronger association between overeducation and depressive symptoms among individuals with less job autonomy, partially due to their lower likelihood of perceiving their earnings as fair. This study integrates status inconsistency theory and distributive justice theory, offering valuable insights for future research and policy formulation to address mental health challenges linked to educational mismatch in the workforce.

Keywords: Educational mismatch; Overeducation; Depressive symptoms; Wage penalty; Fairness of earnings; Job autonomy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11482-024-10311-2 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:ariqol:v:19:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11482-024-10311-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/11482

DOI: 10.1007/s11482-024-10311-2

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Research in Quality of Life is currently edited by Daniel Shek

More articles in Applied Research in Quality of Life from Springer, International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().