Surveying the Extent and Wage Consequences of Education-Job Mismatches in the Philippine Labor Market

Abstract

Recognizing the need to analyze the education-skills gap in the developing economy context, this paper estimates the extent of education-employment mismatches and the resulting wage consequences in the Philippine labor market. It finds that 39 percent of employed individuals are overeducated while over a quarter are undereducated. Meanwhile, overeducated individuals earn only 5 percent more for a surplus year of schooling, relative to required years of schooling, which have returns of 7 percent to 19 percent. It underlines the importance of labor market policies for improved job-skills matching, for instance, through the reduction of information asymmetries. Public subsidies for higher education must also be premised on improved wage prospects or higher productivity for employed individuals.

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