Bilge ERİŞ DERELİ

Educational Mismatch and Overeducation of College and Higher Degree Graduates in Turkey: 2008-2011

2013

(Supervisor: Aysu İnsel)

ABSTRACT

Overeducation indicates the position in which a worker possesses a level of education in excess of the required level of education to hold and perform a particular job.

Using micro data set from İŞKUR (Turkish Labor Institute) for the period 2008-2011, this thesis attempts to analyze the determinants of overeducation in Turkish labor market, with an emphasis on the effect of university prestige. Overeducation is measured by both objective and realized methodologies due to data availability. Separate regression models are estimated by OLS method for each year and the results are compared with each other.

The findings indicate that as the prestige of the university from which the individual graduated increases, educational mismatch decreases. For the other variables the preliminary results can be summarized as follows: The effect of age changes with the measurement technique. Men are more probable of being overeducated than women. The kind of university (public or private) does not have a significant effect on overeducation. Deteriorated local labor market conditions affect overeducation adversely. Finally, individuals migrate to other provinces if they find a better matching job.

The findings may be validation for the job competition theory and signaling for inefficient allocation of human capital resources and suboptimal investment in education. Reallocation of investment in education toward vocational education and training institutions may be the primary policy implication to be drawn.