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Wage consequences of rapid tertiary education expansion in a developing economy: The case of Thailand
Publisher(s)
Scopus
University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
Date Issued
2015
Other Contributor(s)
University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. Research Support Office
Abstract
In recent years, Thailand has experienced the emergence of "overeducated" workers as the supply of university graduates in Thailand has outpaced growth in highskilledemployment opportunities. Using the 2007 to 2009 Thai Labor Force Survey, this paper quantifies the incidence of overeducation and estimates overeducation wage penalties among male university graduates.The results show that the incidence of overeducation is greatest among younger cohorts. Quantile wage regression results suggest that overeducation wage penalties for older workers capture the impact of unobserved low ability on wages. In contrast, persistent wage penalties of 1126% across the wage/ability distributions for younger workers are consistent with structuralimbalances in the Thai labor market. These imbalances make it difficult for university graduates to find jobs commensurate with their level of formal education and to achieve their full earning power. The wage penalties are especially large for new entrants into the labor market.
Subject(s)
International Business Economics
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This work is protected by copyright. Reproduction or distribution of the work in any format is prohibited without written permission of the copyright owner.
Rights Holder(s)
University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
Bibliographic Citation
S.W. Paweenawat, J. Vechbanyongratana (2015) Wage consequences of rapid tertiary education expansion in a developing economy: The case of Thailand. Developing Economies Vol.53 No.3, 218-231.
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