Abstract

The aim of the publication is an attempt to assess the impact of the level of education and innovation on a synthetic measure of living standards of European Union countries residents based on the estimation of the model in which the synthetic measure will be a dependent variable. The implementation of the objective required the use of descriptive-statistical methods, in particular, linear regression method. The Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient was also used to study the relationship between quantitative variables – the synthetic measure and particular analysed determinant. The publication describes the essence of education and the level of innovation in the European Union countries and also reviews the theoretical concept of quality and standard of living in an objective approach. On the basis of Eurostat data from years 2006-2016, an attempt was made to assess the impact of higher education on the standard of living of the inhabitants of the European Community. The standard of the living measure will be calculated on the basis of five determinants: Economy and Finance, Science and Technology, Health, Education and Living Conditions. One of the authors of this paper enriched the dimensions of HDI indicator and proposed the modified index of the level of living. On the basis of the values of synthetic measures for each determinant of the standard of living, the final synthetic measure will be calculated as an arithmetic mean. The necessity of finding a new measurement of the standard of living in societies is emphasized by international organizations and especially scientists. That is why the author decided to modify the standard measure. Nowadays important factors are also science and technology and the standard of human living. The conducted research allowed to determine the relationship between the synthetic measure and important determinants characterizing the level of life. Finally estimated parameters of the linear regression models allowed to get the positive effects of education and innovation on the lives of individuals in the European Community.

Keywords: quality of life, determinants of the standard of living, diversity of living standards, education, personal finance, synthetic measure.

JEL Classification: C100, C130, C240, D140, I280.

Cite as: Migala-Warchol, A., & Pasternak-Malicka, M. (2018). Living standards of EU countries’ residents: impact of education and innovation. Marketing and Management of Innovations, 4, 307-315. https://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2018.4-26

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References

1. Allardt E., (1993). Having, Loving, Being: An Alternative to the Swedish Model of Welfare Research [w:] M. Nussbaum, A. Sen (red.), The Quality of Life, Oxford, Clarendon Press.
2. Ballas D., Lupton R., Kavroudakis D., Hennig B. (2012). Mind the gap. Education inequality across EU regions. European Union, NESSE, http://www.nesse.fr/nesse/activities/reports/activities/reports/mind-the-gap-1
3. Davenport Th.O. (1999). Human Capital What It Is and Why People Invest It, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, s.186.
4. Dewey, J. (1944).Democracy and Education. The Free Press. pp. 1–4.
5. Diener E., Biswas-Diener R. (2002). Will Money Increase Subjective Well-Being?[w:] A.C. Michalos (red.), Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer.
6. Etymology Dictionary, Etymonline.com. https://www.etymonline.com/word/educate
7. Europen Comision, (2018). Education and Training Monitor, The Monitor is the European Commission’s flagship annual publication on education and training in the EU, http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/strategic-framework/et-monitor_pl;European Semester: Thematic factsheet – Active labour market policies (2017).https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/european-semester/ thematic-factsheets/labour-markets-and-skills_en 
8. Fahey T., Nolan B., Whelan C. (2003). Monitoring quality of life in Europe, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg
9. Frei B.S., Stutzer A. (2002). Happiness and Economics, Princeton University Press.
10. Griffin J. (1986). Well-Being, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
11. Haller M., Hadler M. (2006). How Social Relations and Structures can Produce Happiness and Unhappiness: An International Comparative Analysis[w:] Michalos A.C. (red.), Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer 2006.
12. HanushekE. A. (2005). Economic outcomes and school quality. International Institute for Educational Planning. Retrieved, 21 October 2011.
13. Helliwell, J. F. (2008). Life Satisfaction and Quality of Development, working paper 14507, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, pp. 166.
14. Ionescu D. D., Cuza A. I., Ionescu A. M., Cuza A. I., Jaba E. (2013).The Investments in Education and Quality of Life, Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, Special Issue
15. Khan, H., Williams, J. B. (2006). Poverty Alleviation through Access to Education: Can E-Learning Deliver?, Working Paper No. 002/2006, July, pp.2. 
16. Mackenbach, J. P., Health Inequalities: Europe in Profile, UK Presidency of the EU, February 2006 
17. May S.; Aikman, S. (2003).Indigenous Education: Addressing Current Issues and Developments. Comparative Education. 39(2), pp. 139–45;
18. Oreopoulos, P. (2007). Do dropouts drop out too soon? Wealth, health and happiness from compulsory schooling, Journal of Public Economics, vol. 91 (11-12), December.
19. PashlerH., McDonald M., Rohrer D., Bjork R., (2009). Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence, Psychological Science in the Public Interest. 9(3): pp. 105–19
20. Penrose E.T. (1997). The Theory of the Growth of the Firm[w:] Resources, Firm and Strategies. A Reader in the Resource-Based Perspective, N.J. Foss, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 30-35.
21. Pfeifer A. (2007) Good Practices in Basic Education in Latin America, OECD Conference, Istanbul, Turkey
22. Rogoff B., Callanan M., Gutiérrez K. D., Erickson F., (2016). The Organization of Informal Learning, Review of Research in Education. 40, pp. 356–401.
23. Schuller, T. (2007), Understanding the social outcomes of learning, Second OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy, Istanbul, Turkey, June 30, pp.8.
24. Stiglitz, J. E., Sen, A. K., Fitoussi, J.P. (2009). Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress; www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr, pp.46. 
25. Stone, A. A., Krueger, A. B., Steptoe, A., Harter, J. (2010). The Socio-Economic Gradient, in Daily Colds and Flu, Headaches, and Pain, JAMA Internal Medicine
26. Terpstra D., Rozell E. (1993). The Relationship of Staffing Practices to Organizational Level Measures of Performance, “Personnel Psychology”, spring, pp. 27-38.
27. United Nations (UN) (1954) International definition and measurement of standards and levels of living1954.IV.5. UN, New York
28. Van Doorslaer, E., Masseria, C. (2004). OECD Health Equity Research Group Members, Income-related inequality in the use of medical care in 21 OECD countries, OECD Health Working Papers No. 14, OECD, Paris.
29. Werfhors H. van de, Dronkers J., Karsten S., (2016).Educational systems and four central function of education, Research programme funded by NWO Programming Council for Educational Research (PROO) 2011-2015, http://www.hermanvandewerfhorst.socsci.uva.nl/PROOProgrammeDescription.pdf
30. Winch Ch., Gingell J. (2008). Philosophy of Education: The Key Concepts(2nd edition). London: Routledge, pp. 10–11.
31. Włodarczyk K. (2015), Quality of urban life in Poland, Journal of International Studies, 8(2), 155-163. DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2015/8-2/13