Unraveling the Nexus between Overeducation and Depressive Symptoms in China: The Roles of Perceived Fairness of Earnings and Job Autonomy

The global expansion of educational systems has led to a growing prevalence of overeducation. Despite the well-documented overeducation-depression nexus in the developed world, scholars have paid much less attention to this relationship in developing countries. This study utilized data from the China Labor-Force Dynamis Survey (CLDS) 2016 and China’s 1% Population Sample Survey 2015 to explore the mechanisms linking overeducation to depressive symptoms and identify factors buffering the strength of this association. Employing causal inference methods, including instrumental variable regression and propensity score matching, we find a positive impact of overeducation on depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis shows that low personal income and perceived fairness of earnings act as mediators, aligning with perspectives of wage penalty and distributive justice within the context of overeducation. Moreover, interaction effects suggest a stronger association between overeducation and depressive symptoms among individuals with less job autonomy, partially due to their lower likelihood of perceiving their earnings as fair. This study integrates status inconsistency theory and distributive justice theory, offering valuable insights for future research and policy formulation to address mental health challenges linked to educational mismatch in the workforce.