Over-education and earnings: where are we, where should we go?

Drawing on empirical studies from five countries spanning an interval of tw o decades, regularities in the incidence of over- and undereducation are ou tlined, as well as consequences for individual earnings. The results are co nfronted with three theoretical models (search, human capital and assignmen t), but none of these is convincingly related to the specification of the e arnings function. Directions for further work are suggested. (C) 2000 Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. JEL classification: J24; J31.