Research

Work in progress

Two threads run through the current work: which educational pathways protect people from educational mismatch, and what that mismatch costs them as technology reshapes their jobs. Drafts are available on request.

1. Working paper
   Should I study abroad? The effect of international student mobility on labour market outcomes With R. Dopeso-Fernández and M. Vilalta-Bufí. Whether periods of study away from home pay off in the early labour market.
2. Working paper
   Vocational education as a vaccine against overeducation With R. Dopeso-Fernández and M. Vilalta-Bufí. Whether a vocational track before university lowers the risk of later educational mismatch.
3. In progress
   Skills, computers and overeducation With R. Dopeso-Fernández and M. Vilalta-Bufí. How digital technology at work changes what educational mismatch means for workers.

Peer-reviewed articles

1. 2026
   Parental education and the transition to master's and PhD studies in Spain With R. Dopeso-Fernández and M. Vilalta-Bufí. Revista Española de Sociología, 35(3), a314. doi:10.22325/fes/res.2026.314
2. 2025
   PhD graduates in Spain: does it pay to study it abroad? With R. Dopeso-Fernández and M. Vilalta-Bufí. International Journal of Manpower, 46(9), 1779–1793. doi:10.1108/IJM-03-2025-0188
3. 2025
   Job searches and screening of university graduates: explicit and implicit individual characteristics With R. Dopeso-Fernández and J. Mª Raya. Journal of Labor Research, 46(1–2), 52–76. doi:10.1007/s12122-025-09372-5
4. 2023
   Overeducation and childcare time With M. Vilalta-Bufí. International Journal of Manpower, 44(9), 108–127. doi:10.1108/IJM-01-2023-0040
5. 2022
   Only the smartest? Motivating job characteristics for all ability levels and their impact on job satisfaction With R. Dopeso-Fernández and G. Giusti. Bulletin of Economic Research, 75(3), 742–775. doi:10.1111/boer.12379
6. 2022
   How fiscal policy affects housing market dynamics: evidence from Spain With J. Mª Raya. Bulletin of Economic Research, 75(2), 323–347. doi:10.1111/boer.12358
7. 2019
   University program characteristics and education-job mismatch With M. Vilalta-Bufí. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 19(4), 20190083. doi:10.1515/bejeap-2019-0083
8. 2017
   Skills variety and self-employment: the case of Spain With J. Teodoro. International Review of Entrepreneurship, 15(2).
9. 2016
   Over-education and its opportunity cost in Japan With I. Fuentes Molina and J. Mª Raya. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17(2), 299–312. doi:10.1007/s12564-016-9427-8
10. 2016
    Entrepreneurial skills and education-job matching of higher education graduates With P. Róbert, M. Buil and N. Masferrer. European Journal of Education, 51(1), 73–89. doi:10.1111/ejed.12161
11. 2016
    Entrepreneurial skills and wage employment With M. Vilalta-Bufí. International Journal of Manpower, 37(3), 556–588. doi:10.1108/IJM-01-2015-0021
12. 2015
    Did housing taxation contribute to increase riskier borrowing? With J. Mª Raya. The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 53(1), 90–113. doi:10.1007/s11146-015-9519-y
13. 2013
    Why do tertiary education graduates regret their study program? A comparison between Spain and the Netherlands With M. Vilalta-Bufí. Higher Education, 65(5), 565–579. doi:10.1007/s10734-012-9563-y
14. 2013
    Job satisfaction of university graduates With M. Vilalta-Bufí. Revista de Economía Aplicada, 21(61), 29–55. Full text
15. 2012
    Graduate labor mismatch in Poland With M. Vilalta-Bufí. Polish Sociological Review, 179(3), 413–429. Full text (PDF)
16. 2011
    The sociology of educational mismatch Polish Sociological Review, 173(1), 21–34.
17. 2011
    Literature survey of the incidence of over-education: a sociological approach Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 134, 125–142. Full text
18. 2008
    Labor market effects of field of study in comparative perspective: an analysis of 22 European countries With D. Reimer and C. Noelke. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 49(4–5), 233–256. doi:10.1177/0020715208093076
19. 2008
    Do fields of study matter for over-education? The cases of Spain and Germany With L. Ortiz. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 49(4–5), 305–327. doi:10.1177/0020715208093079

Research interests

Cognitive ability and skills, overeducation and educational mismatch, employment conditions, fields of study, intergenerational mobility, job satisfaction, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education, and human capital investments in children.

The full record, including conference presentations and reviewing service, is in the CV.

Download CV (PDF)