Abstract
Using microdata from Iran's Household Income and Expenditure Survey, the authors investigate the incidence of over‐education over the period 2001–12 and show that the ratio of workers with post‐secondary education increased steadily in many low‐skilled jobs that required lower educational attainment. Their econometric analysis shows that the odds of over‐education were higher for women than for men and that the likelihood of over‐education also had a strong negative association with a worker's experience. Additional econometric tests reveal that over‐education had a negative impact on workers' wages in the private sector but that the opposite was true for public sector jobs.