Volume 22, Number 1 (Winter) 1987
Rumberger, Russell W. 1987. "The Impact of Surplus Schooling on Productivity and Earnings." Journal of Human Resources 22(1):24-50.
This article examines the impact of surplus schooling on individual productivity and earnings. It proposes a model that divides workers' education into two components: education that is required and thus fully utilized in the job, and education that exceeds the amount required and thus may be underutilized in the job. The model is tested with data from the 1969, 1973, and 1977 Quality of Working Life Surveys (Quinn and Staines 1979). Required schooling for each occupation is derived from estimates by job incumbents and by the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. The results show that surplus or underutilized education is rewarded at a lower rate than required education, with the actual return dependent on the type of job.
The author is a senior research associate in the School of Education at Stanford University. The research for this paper was supported by funds from the Spencer Foundation grant, "Education and Productivity," to Stanford University. The analysis and conclusions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Spencer Foundation. The author would like to thank Henry Levin for his helpful comments, Mun Tsang for his expert research assistance, and Catherine O'Connor and Claudette Sprague for their secretarial assistance.
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