Transforming lives: the impact of compulsory schooling on hope and happiness

• DOI: 10.1007/s00148-016-0592-1
• Publication Date: 2016-04-14T11:07:45Z
• Authors: Bahadır Dursun; Resul Cesur
• Keywords: Counterintuitive; Endogeneity; Compulsory education; Well-Being

This is the first article examining the causal impact of mandatory extended primary schooling on happiness (sense of well being) of young adults. We rely on a law change that raised compulsory schooling from 5 to 8 years in Turkey to address the endogeneity of education to happiness. Our study shows that, for females, earning at least a middle school diploma increases the likelihood of being happy and the probability of being satisfied with various life domains. Descriptive tests suggest that being hopeful about one’s own future well being partly explains the relationship between women’s schooling and happiness. For males, although relatively imprecisely estimated, we find evidence that earning at least a middle school degree results in a decline in subjective well being. Supplemental analysis develops evidence consistent with the view that an imbalance between aspirations and attainments, flowing from extended primary schooling, may be the reason behind this counterintuitive finding among men.