Vzdělanostní nesoulad a jeho vliv na mzdy v ČR

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to analyse educational mismatch in the labour market of the Czech Republic and to examine its impact on workers' wages. To achieve this, data from two surveys of the Czech labour market conducted in 2011 and 2022 will be utilized, allowing for an assessment of changes and developments over an entire decade. This study distinguishes between vertical mismatch, where a worker possesses a higher or lower level of education than required for a given position, and horizontal mismatch, which refers to discrepancies between a worker’s field of study and the field of their professional occupation. The most frequently studied aspect of educational mismatch is overeducation, a phenomenon widely discussed following Richard Freeman’s (1976) publication The Overeducated American, which sparked significant debate among experts about returns to education and their declining trend since World War II. This work captured the attention of the academic community, making the quantification of wage effects associated with educational mismatch a primary focus in the empirical literature. The empirical analysis of 2022 data confirms that workers with the required level of education receive the highest wage premium, amounting to 7.2% per additional year of required education. In contrast, overeducated employees receive a lower wage premium of only 2.3% per additional year of overeducation, while undereducated workers face a wage penalty of −3.8% per missing year of education. The robustness of these results was confirmed through alternative approaches to measuring educational mismatch and the application of different methodologies for its assessment. These findings align with previous research, particularly the conclusions of Mysíková (2016), who analysed similar data for the Czech Republic. This study is the first to test the impact of various psychological traits on wage compensation, confirming that traits such as ambition and influence might increase the wage effects of required education. Apart from that, psychological traits like belongingness or adaptability can mitigate some negative wage effects. In addition, tests and econometric methods were employed to address issues such as unobserved heterogeneity, measurement errors, and selection bias. Thus, this dissertation provides important insights for both the academic community and policymakers. It highlights the need for education systems to better align with labour market demands to minimize the occurrence of educational mismatch and its negative consequences for employees. On the other hand, it appears that we have an overeducated workforce that could become a driving force for future economic development. However, the current slow pace of development and implementation of technological changes that could make use of this education and increase demand for it is still not forthcoming from companies.