abstract: 'In the last two decades, we have witnessed a rapid expansion of higher

  education in Mainland China and Taiwan, recording a significant increase

  in higher education enrolments in these two Chinese societies. The

  massification of higher education in China and Taiwan has inevitably

  resulted in an oversupply of university graduates, with growing social

  concerns for skills mismatches being found in the labour market,

  stagnant graduate employment and social mobility. This article

  critically examines how university students and graduates in these two

  Chinese societies reflect upon their employment experiences. Human

  capital theory predicts that other things being equal, raising

  participation in higher education will initially increase inequality as

  rates of return rise, and then it will reduce inequality as expansion

  reaches mass levels and rates of return decline. If the output of

  graduates outpaces the demand for their skills, which appears to be the

  current case in many countries, then supply and demand pressures reduce

  the pay premium for degrees and lower income inequalities. However, this

  study clearly demonstrates that the massification and the

  universalisation of higher education in Mainland China and Taiwan,

  respectively, have actually intensified inequality.'
affiliation: 'Mok, KH (Corresponding Author), Lingnan Univ, Room 208,2-F Wong Adm
  Bldg,8 Castle Peak Rd, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, Peoples R China.

  Mok, Ka Ho, Lingnan Univ, Dept Sociol \& Social Policy, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, Peoples
  R China.

  Wen, Zhuoyi, Hong Kong Inst Educ, Ctr Greater China Studies, Hong Kong, Hong Kong,
  Peoples R China.

  Dale, Roger, Univ Bristol, Grad Sch Educ, Bristol, Avon, England.'
author: Mok, Ka Ho and Wen, Zhuoyi and Dale, Roger
author-email: kahomok@ln.edu.hk
author_list:
- family: Mok
  given: Ka Ho
- family: Wen
  given: Zhuoyi
- family: Dale
  given: Roger
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1080/1360080X.2016.1174397
eissn: 1469-9508
files: []
issn: 1360-080X
journal: JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
keywords: 'Ant tribe; employability; social mobility; valorisation of higher

  education'
keywords-plus: CHALLENGES; EMPLOYMENT; WAGE
language: English
month: JUN
number: 3, SI
number-of-cited-references: '45'
orcid-numbers: 'Wen, Zhuoyi/0000-0001-5989-8116

  MOK, Ka Ho/0000-0003-0846-1867'
pages: 264-281
papis_id: d19f0b5023e6461353ce703f641c7fc5
ref: Mok2016employabilitymobilit
researcherid-numbers: 'Wen, Zhuoyi/N-1736-2019

  Mok, Ka Ho/D-4883-2009

  '
times-cited: '28'
title: 'Employability and mobility in the valorisation of higher education qualifications:
  the experiences and reflections of Chinese students and graduates'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000375862100003
usage-count-last-180-days: '6'
usage-count-since-2013: '48'
volume: '38'
web-of-science-categories: Education \& Educational Research
year: '2016'