Overeducation and Social Integration Among Highly Educated Migrant Workers in China

In recent years, Chinese people are increasingly experiencing overeducation in the labor market due to China's expansion of higher education. Migrant workers, disadvantaged in the labor market, are at an even higher risk of overeducation. This could trigger a series of social consequences. This study empirically analyzed the impacts of overeducation on social integration among highly educated migrant workers and examined the heterogeneity of these impacts across migrants with different socio-demographic characteristics, based on the data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) 2017. Logit regression was used to estimate the likelihood of overeducation, and propensity score matching was employed to construct the comparable treatment and control groups. The results imply that overeducation has adverse effects on the social integration of migrant workers with higher education, and these effects vary across gender, educational level, and hukou status. The effects of overeducation on social integration are partly, yet slightly, mediated by personal income. Our results highlight the need for policymakers to address the overeducation migrant workers experience in the labor market, focusing on tackling the social consequences of migrant workers from an occupational perspective to improve their quality of life.