Who Favors Education? Insights from the World Values Survey

Using World Values Survey data from 55 countries, this paper provides detailed insights into the characteristics of people who place a high value on education – and into the characteristics of those who don’t. It finds that attitudes toward education vary across the following characteristics: educational attainment, income, social class, political position, postmaterialist values, religion, sex, age, ethnicity, marital status, number of children, family values and employment status. Countries’ average GDP per capita affects people’s views of education too. Whereas some results are in line with theoretical expectations and previous empirical research, others are surprising.