Overeducation and unemployment spells’ duration

This work proposes an investigation of educational mismatch focusing on the study of individuals’ unemployment spells. We present evidence for Italy, showing that overeducation is basically an occurrence that follows long periods of unemployment and it is strictly related to individuals’ innate ability. We build up a matching model coupled with endogenous educational and technological choices and we consider the role of university selectivity and individual innate ability in determining unemployment duration. © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.