The Role of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills in Overeducation

Using the National Education Longitudinal Study, this paper investigates the role of cognitive and noncognitive skills in overeducation. The results indicate that noncognitive skills as well as cognitive skills substitute for education but the substitutability decreases with an increasing level of attained education. Also, both types of skills are positively related to wages, and their returns depend on number of years of required education. In contrast, they play a modest role in job satisfaction and in receiving trainings. Finally, workers who have attained more education than their cognitive and noncognitive skills predict behave just like overeducated workers.