Educational mismatch and retirement

Using a panel data set of scientists in the US, we examine the hypothesis that workers in jobs poorly matched to their education are more likely to retire. In pooled estimates, we confirm that the mismatched are more likely to retire and that among retirees, the mismatched retire at younger ages. Hazard function estimates also support the hypothesis. Workers with longer accumulated periods of mismatch are significantly more likely to retire in discrete-time duration models that account for both reasonable controls and worker heterogeneity. These findings suggest that educational mismatch and its consequences are concentrated among late-career employees.