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Donna Rhodes and George Westerman. Mihaylova, Alexandra. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. Technology and Policy Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Technology and Policy Program 2019-09-17T16:29:48Z 2019-09-17T16:29:48Z 2019 2019 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122209 1117709955 Thesis: S.M. in Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, 2019 Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 93-96). An increase in the stock of high skilled workers boosts labor productivity, though economic theory suggests some of the effect may be attenuated by skill mismatch. This research begins to identify and quantify the mechanisms through which skill mismatch affects employment outcomes. Several unique characteristics of personnel management in the US military, particularly in the Air Force, make it an attractive object of study for estimating the magnitude and range of such costs. Unlike most civilian employers, the Department of Defense directly observes the skills of incoming recruits through their achievement on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. Skill requirements for all specialties are expressed in terms of minimum qualifying scores. The matching process produces a differential between a worker's skills and the skills required by her job. Using historical Air Force recruitment and career data, it is possible to identify the relationship between skill mismatch and employment outcomes such as retention and tenure. Using a probit model specification and an instrumental variables approach, this research finds that poorly-matched workers are 20 percent less likely to be retained relative to well-matched workers. Effects of mismatch are most pronounced among high-aptitude workers. The difference in response to skill mismatch between men and women is statistically indistinguishable. These estimates offer a means to quantify the benefits an employer can expect from more thorough evaluation and better job matching of prospective workers. Technological innovations in online learning platforms and skill evaluations offer opportunities to improve matching outcomes. Strategic partnerships between online learning content providers, businesses and workers are important to make these improvements a reality. by Alexandra Mihaylova. S.M. in Technology and Policy S.M.inTechnologyandPolicy Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society 96 pages eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. Technology and Policy Program. Occupational skill mismatch and the consequences to employment outcomes Thesis application/pdf 2019-09-17T16:29:46Z Publication Master ESD IDSS unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="2e1bfff5-d1f5-4fbb-aad4-3cd5a7d68950"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Occupational skill mismatch and the consequences to employment outcomes</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2019</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Mihaylova, Alexandra.</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.</Keyword> <Keyword>Technology and Policy Program.</Keyword> <Abstract>An increase in the stock of high skilled workers boosts labor productivity, though economic theory suggests some of the effect may be attenuated by skill mismatch. This research begins to identify and quantify the mechanisms through which skill mismatch affects employment outcomes. Several unique characteristics of personnel management in the US military, particularly in the Air Force, make it an attractive object of study for estimating the magnitude and range of such costs. Unlike most civilian employers, the Department of Defense directly observes the skills of incoming recruits through their achievement on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. Skill requirements for all specialties are expressed in terms of minimum qualifying scores. The matching process produces a differential between a worker&apos;s skills and the skills required by her job. Using historical Air Force recruitment and career data, it is possible to identify the relationship between skill mismatch and employment outcomes such as retention and tenure. Using a probit model specification and an instrumental variables approach, this research finds that poorly-matched workers are 20 percent less likely to be retained relative to well-matched workers. Effects of mismatch are most pronounced among high-aptitude workers. The difference in response to skill mismatch between men and women is statistically indistinguishable. These estimates offer a means to quantify the benefits an employer can expect from more thorough evaluation and better job matching of prospective workers. Technological innovations in online learning platforms and skill evaluations offer opportunities to improve matching outcomes. Strategic partnerships between online learning content providers, businesses and workers are important to make these improvements a reality.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>