Heaven knows I’m miserable now: overeducation and reduced life satisfaction

Summary

Recently the supply of young graduates entering the UK labour market has undergone a sharp increase. A possible consequence of this is an increase in the number of individuals who are overeducated for the jobs that they do subsequent to participating in higher education. Using British panel data and dynamic panel analysis, I demonstrate that overeducation amongst the young has increased, and that the overeducated are less satisfied with life than their peers who are not overeducated. This result appears to fade over time, with more recently overeducated individuals being both more common and less dissatisfied with life, consistent with the notion that relative effects and comparisons are important for life satisfaction.