What degrees prove
Berg (1970) found degrees poorly predict performance; Collins (1971) saw them as status-group closure, unlike human capital theory.
Credential inflation
Collins (1979/2019) analysed rising requirements; Dore (1976) described the diploma disease, relevant to Korea's exam competition.
Comparisons
Spence's (1973) signalling overlaps; Brown (2001) and Bills (2003) compare accounts amid the post-industrial knowledge economy.
FAQ
- What is it in simple terms?
- Judging people by degrees rather than by what they can do.
- What is credential inflation?
- Rising degree requirements for the same jobs as everyone gets more schooling.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Berg, I. (1970). Education and jobs: The great training robbery. Praeger. A classic showing credential requirements poorly match job performance.
- Collins, R. (1971). Functional and conflict theories of educational stratification. American Sociological Review, 36(6), 1002–1019. Contrasts functional and conflict views, stressing status-group closure.
- Collins, R. (2019). The credential society: An historical sociology of education and stratification (Rev. ed.). Columbia University Press. (Original work published 1979) The key historical analysis of credential inflation.
- Dore, R. (1976). The diploma disease: Education, qualification and development. University of California Press. Analyses the diploma disease in Japan and developing countries.
- Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374. The economic signalling theory of education, a counterpart to sociological views.
- Brown, D. K. (2001). The social sources of educational credentialism: Status cultures, labor markets, and organizations. Sociology of Education, 74(Extra issue), 19–34. Reviews cultural, labour-market and organisational sources of credentialism.
- Bills, D. B. (2003). Credentials, signals, and screens: Explaining the relationship between schooling and job assignment. Review of Educational Research, 73(4), 441–469. Compares human capital, signalling, screening and credentialist accounts.