Educational Mismatch and Labour Market Institutions: The Role of Gender

Using the German Socio-Economic Panel data, we investigate the correlation between trade union membership and educational mismatch. Employing panel tobit and probit regressions, we find that union membership is negatively associated with overeducation, primarily among males. This finding remains consistent across subgroups of full-time or private sector male workers, as well as for males of all ages or residing in either East or West Germany. The same negative correlation is observed for females younger than the median age and residing in East Germany. Our results indicate that collective wage agreements and works councils do not drive this relationship. Conversely, no significant correlation is found between union membership and undereducation.