Meanings
- uncountableThe phenomenon of academic credentials, particularly university degrees, dwindling in value and recognition on the job market due to easy availability and oversupply.
1 more example
The process of credential inflation is largely self-driven; it feeds on itself. A given level of education at one time gave access to elite jobs. As educational attainment has expanded, the social distinctiveness of that degree and its value on the occupational marketplace have declined; this in turn has expanded demand for still higher levels of education.
2002, Steven G. Brint, The Future of the City of Intellect: The Changing American University, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 24
Origin
Coined by Randall Collins in 1979.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
credential inflation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/credential%20inflation
“credential inflation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/credential%20inflation. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “credential inflation,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/credential%20inflation.
Source: credential inflation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.