This article focuses on the relationship between educational mismatch and labour mobility. After showing the theoretical aspects of that relationship, we provide information on the educational mismatch detected in the Spanish labour market and carry out an empirical research through the estimation of a duration model. In contrast with Alba (1993), we find no evidence to support the prediction of the neoclassical model on educational mismatch as a non permanent feature of labour market. Rather, the results suggest that there is a permanent mismatch between the schooling system and the labour market in Spain. The analysis has been carried out using a new data base, the "Encuesta de Estructura, Conciencia y Biografia de Clase" (ECBC) launched in Spain in 1991.

Keywords: labour mobility, educational mismatch.