Labor Economics · advanced
What moves on the Human Capital & the Mincer Equation diagram
When degrees become ubiquitous, the earnings premium per year of schooling compresses, flattening the Mincer curve and delaying the payback point.
The value of a degree depends partly on how rare it is.
Graduate numbers surge and employers start demanding degrees for jobs that never needed them.
The return per year of schooling falls: the earnings curve flattens downward.
The break-even point moves later. If education mostly signals rather than builds skill, expansion dilutes the signal for everyone.
Examiners ask this as: credential inflation, degree devalued, everyone has a degree, oversupply of graduates, diploma inflation.
Other scenarios on Human Capital & the Mincer Equation