We study how human capital diversification, in the form of double majoring, affects the response of earnings to labor market shocks. Double majors experience substantial protection against earnings shocks, of 56%. This finding holds across different model specifications and data sets. Furthermore, the protection double majors experience is more…

Using longitudinal data of college graduates in Colombia, we estimate labor market returns to postsecondary degrees and to various skills--including literacy, numeracy, foreign language, and field-specific skills. Graduates of academic programs and schools of higher reputation obtain higher earnings relative to vocational public programs. A one…

This study explores perceived skill outcomes among graduates of 39 Australian higher education institutions in the short- to medium-term after course completion. While acknowledging important dimensions of graduate employability beyond the skills-based approach, we investigated graduate perspectives on their industry-relevant skill outcomes from…

The multitude of tasks performed in the labor market requires skills in many dimensions. Traditionally, human capital has been proxied primarily by educational attainment. However, an expanding body of literature highlights the importance of various skill dimensions for success in the labor market. This paper examines the returns to cognitive,…

Purpose: The present study aims to investigate the reasons for the gap between academic education and the required skills of the labor market in Iran. Design/methodology/approach: For this purpose, the authors adopted a thematic analysis method. The participants in the study were connoisseurs from universities and research institutes in Iran, who…

Do employers prioritize university prestige above an applicant's skills in the hiring process? To distinguish between the effect of human capital in the hiring process from the effect of the name of the graduating university--while controlling for networking effects--2,400 fictitious applications were submitted to IT and accounting jobs in the US,…

In 2013, roughly 7% of college graduates under 25 could not find employment, and about 37% were underemployed. Public university tuition costs increased by 42% between 1999 and 2012, and 71% of college graduates have an average of $29,400 in outstanding student debt. Employers for several decades have complained about how higher educational…

This paper explores the employability of young Higher Education (HE) graduates in Belarus, from the point of view of employers. Graduate employability can be defined by six items: starting a job; learning at work; performing work tasks; improving professional prospects; improving personal development; and developing entrepreneurial capacity. The…

Learning and skills have important economic, social and individual benefits. Yet for decades the United Kingdom (UK) has lagged behind comparator countries, particularly for intermediate skills. This is first report of Learning & Work's Ambition Skills programme which looks at where the UK is on track to be by 2035 and explores the changing…

Canonical human capital theories posit that education, by enhancing worker skills, reduces the likelihood that a worker will be laid-off during times of economic change. Yet, this has not been demonstrated causally. We link administrative education records from 1987 through 2002 to nationally representative surveys conducted before and after…

Americans often believe that a college degree is the key that unlocks the door to the middle class. However, a college degree no longer ensures stable middle-class employment. To increase their chances of post-graduation employment, many students now major in "practical arts" disciplines like Business and Engineering. Graduates of…

In this study, we investigated the factors associated with education-job mismatches among US workers by immigrant generation. We used the data from the U.S. sample of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and documented the distribution of education-job mismatches across selected independent variables. We…

Today, one of the long-term development goals of Azerbaijan is to train competitive human capital in higher education in the 21st century in accordance with the modern requirements of the labour market. In this context, the modernisation of the quality assurance system in higher education in Azerbaijan is one of the priority issues. The article…

According to a prominent hypothesis, the occurrence of educational mismatches is consistent with human capital theory since over- and undereducation are substitutes for heterogeneity in the abilities and skills among educational peers. Using German data[superscript 1] of literacy and numeracy test scores, I find evidence that compared to their…

While debate continues about how to define and measure employability, most accounts revolve around a deceptively simple idea--whether or not a person obtains a job depends on their acquiring certain skills and attributes in college that are desired by employers in the labor market. The narrative advanced by this perspective raises two critical…