Lu Yao, Li Xiaoguang
Columbia University.
Xi'an Jiaotong University.
Soc Forces. 2021 Feb 1;100(2):706-737. doi: 10.1093/sf/soaa145. eCollection 2021 Dec.
Despite remarkable educational gains of minorities, ethnoracial wage inequality persists and has even expanded among highly educated workers. Conventional explanations for this inequality are primarily derived from comparing workers across different educational levels and are less salient for understanding inequalities within the highly educated workforce. This study examines a previously overlooked source of ethnoracial inequality among highly educated workers: vertical mismatch between workers' educational level and the education requirements for their occupation. Using a longitudinal sample of college graduates from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we find that vertical mismatch accounts for a large part of racial/ethnic and nativity wage inequality. Specifically, highly educated minorities (especially blacks and Hispanics) and immigrants (especially those holding a foreign degree) are disproportionately channeled into mismatched jobs and subsequently consigned to such positions. Also, highly educated Hispanics and Asians, as well as foreign-educated immigrants, face greater wage penalties of vertical mismatch. The findings offer new insights into a key source of ethnoracial and nativity stratification.
尽管少数族裔在教育方面取得了显著进步，但种族工资不平等现象依然存在，甚至在高学历劳动者中有所加剧。对这种不平等的传统解释主要源于对不同教育水平劳动者的比较，对于理解高学历劳动力内部的不平等现象并不那么突出。本研究考察了高学历劳动者中一个此前被忽视的种族不平等根源：劳动者的教育水平与其职业的教育要求之间的纵向不匹配。利用收入与项目参与调查中的大学毕业生纵向样本，我们发现纵向不匹配在很大程度上导致了种族/族裔和出生地工资不平等。具体而言，高学历少数族裔（尤其是黑人和西班牙裔）以及移民（尤其是持有外国学位的人）被不成比例地分配到不匹配的工作中，并因此被归入此类职位。此外，高学历的西班牙裔和亚裔以及受过外国教育的移民，面临着更大的纵向不匹配工资惩罚。这些发现为种族和出生地分层的一个关键根源提供了新的见解。
