Impact of formal education on subjective well-being in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana

Abstract

Even though research has established that well-being should transcend material possession, studies in Ghana have mostly relied on material wealth as an indicator of well-being. This paper diverts from the usual measures of well-being by examining the impact of formal education on subjective well-being. It uses the data set of a survey on subjective well-being conducted in January 2017 in Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ashanti Region by the Centre of Social Policy Studies. The paper captures subjective well-being as either overall happiness or overall life satisfaction and examines the impact of formal education differently on these proxies of well-being using propensity score matching analytical technique. The results indicate that formal education is a predictor of subjective well-being. Suggestion is therefore made to the Government and other stakeholders of education in Ghana to extend formal education to all Ghanaians.