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September 2022

Beyond the averages: higher education and wellbeing

Beyond the averages: higher education and wellbeing
In partnership with

The quick read

If we evaluate the link between education and wellbeing at the average, we can lose important nuances that matter for strong, representative policy.

This is because the relationship is different at different levels of life satisfaction.

This research is a UK-first to investigate the relationship between wellbeing and higher education on such a large dataset. It uses a combination of cross-sectional, panel and event analyses.

The research found that:

  • for those with low life satisfaction, higher education is important and can act as a positive buffer against
    negative shocks;
  • for those with mid-level life satisfaction, higher education has no statistically significant impact;
  • for those with high life satisfaction, higher education is important as a positional good, but can have a negative association leading to ‘frustrated achievers’;
  • getting a university degree initially decreases life satisfaction, but ultimately improves it over time.
Frustrated achievers

Frustrated achievers are people who experience negative wellbeing due to unmet aspirations. No matter how much you have achieved, you feel you need more in order to be happy. (Graham and Pettinato, 2002)

Positional goods

Positional goods are commodities whose value depends on how many others possess them. For example, “The value to me of my education depends not only on how much I have but also on how much the man ahead of me in the job line has.” (Hirsch, 1976)

Close The quick read

Background

What was done

What did the study find?

Research implications

Recommendations for action

References

Suggested citation

Downloads

You may also wish to read the blog article on this document.

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