| By: |
Bertermann, Alexander;
Kamhöfer, Daniel A.;
Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah |
| Abstract: |
This paper investigates the causal effect of education on life satisfaction,
exploring effect heterogeneity along employment status. We use exogenous
variation in compulsory schooling requirements and the build-up of new,
academically more demanding schools, shifting educational attainment along the
entire distribution of schooling. Leveraging plant closures and longitudinal
information, we also address the endogeneity of employment status. We find a
positive effect of education on life satisfaction for employed individuals,
but a negative one for those without a job. We propose an aspiration-augmented
utility function as a unifying explanation for the asymmetric effect of
education on life satisfaction. |
| Keywords: |
Education, Life satisfaction, Employment status, Compulsory schooling reforms, School openings, Instrumental variable estimation |
| JEL: |
I31 C26 |
| Date: |
2023 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:406&r=hap |