Are Overqualified Migrants Self-Selected? Evidence from Central and Eastern European Countries

Abstract

This paper analyzes the selection of migrants into overqualified employment abroad. The theoretical model shows that it is either the “best of the worst” or the “worst of the best” that are willing to accept overqualification abroad, depending on the selection into migration. This hypothesis is confirmed by an empirical analysis based on a unique survey on cross-border mobility intentions in three central and eastern European countries: even after controlling for selection into being willing to work abroad, those willing to accept overqualified employment abroad are, ceteris paribus, negatively selected.