Does Public Expenditure on Education Improve Well‐Being? International Evidence
利用欧洲社会调查和官方宏观数据，用多层模型量化公共教育支出与个人主观幸福感的关系，发现支出对幸福感有正向影响，但仅对高等教育群体显著，且受意识形态调节。
ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to quantify the relationship between public expenditure on education and individual subjective well‐being, providing empirical evidence of the social return on this investment. We use microdata from the European Social Survey (ESS) merged with macroeconomic variables from official sources. Econometric estimations are carried out using multilevel models. Our results show a positive association between public expenditure on education and individual well‐being. However, this effect is not homogeneous across educational levels, as robust evidence of a positive contribution is only found for tertiary education. Furthermore, we explore whether this relationship is contingent on individuals' ideological preferences. Our findings indicate that individuals who espouse a conservative ideology exhibit a weaker effect compared to those with a progressive mindset. Nevertheless, the positive correlation between education expenditure and well‐being persists for the latter group. To assess the robustness of our results, we have replicated the calculations using a different survey, specifically the Eurobarometer, and conducted estimations with alternative methodologies, which confirm their consistency.