That's definitely the wooliest part of the article. The claim is that the better employers value MBAs most, which pushes PhDs down the hierarchy. Whether this

That's definitely the wooliest part of the article. The claim is that the better employers value MBAs most, which pushes PhDs down the hierarchy. Whether this would actually push them far enough to be effectively unemployable (for instance, down to the level of helpdesk-type jobs, which I imagine aren't really that keen to employ PhDs) is much more doubtful. I don't know enough about the Chinese marriage market to know how well it fits with 'matching down, but all in all I don't think the parallel drawn with PhD employment is justifiable.