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Ehemalige Promovenden/-innen

Empirical Analysis of Non-Monetary Benefits of Education, Social Networks and Trust

  • Bearbeiterin: Kyra Selina Hagge
  • Titel: Empirical Analysis of Non-Monetary Benefits of Education, Social Networks and Trust
  • Kategorie: Promotion
  • Fachgebiet: Volkswirtschaftslehre
  • Status: Abgeschlossen 11.05.2026
  • Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Peter Winker, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Meckl
  • Abstract: In a time when humans revert more and more to the use of technology to mediate human interaction, it remains vital to underline the importance of resources embedded in social ties to individual as well as collective well-being. Alongside economic returns, we now recognize a host of non-monetary returns from human connection, such as social support, trust, and networks (Domínguez & Watkins, 2003; Gagliardi et al., 2020; Viry et al., 2017). Under contemporary challenges such as increasing geographic mobility, migration, and environmental degradation, there is a need to understand how these social resources are accessed and mobilized, and which individual characteristics help people to do so.

    Education is not only connected to increased labor market returns; higher levels of schooling go along with improved mental and physical health, including self-rated health, higher life expectancy and lower incidences of disease, among others (Herd et al., 2007; Link et al., 2008). One possible pathway goes through social networks; education leads to denser social networks, which expand the access to social support (Coleman, 1988; Lin, 2001). Having access to education is therefore crucial for personal success, health and well-being. Migrants often have more patchy education paths, their degrees might not be equivalent in the host country (Sentell & Braun, 2012) and do not speak the host country’s language as proficiently (Walton et al., 2009) which raises concerns about inequality in access to social resources. Feelings of trust, which are also embedded in and shaped by social relationships, and knowledge of eco-labels matter for sustainable consumer behavior (Giddens, 1990; Thøgersen, 2000). In understanding sustainable behavior too, education and social resources lead to an array of non-monetary benefits.

    This dissertation consists of four different contributions, each addressing a distinct question - ranging from migrants’ access to social support, to the effects of residential mobility on family ties, to the role of education in bridging spatial distances within social networks, to the importance of trust and eco-label knowledge in promoting sustainable consumption - together they advance a common argument: that individual well-being and behavior are shaped by intangible resources embedded in social relationships, institutions and knowledge systems. These resources are present independent of economic returns, which underlines the need for a deeper understanding of the value of education and social relationships.