Açığa Dikkat Et: Avrupa’da Kamu Eğitim Harcamaları ve Toplumsal Cinsiyete Duyarlı İstihdam

Öz

Toplumsal cinsiyet temelli istihdam farklarının azaltılması, sürdürülebilir kalkınma ve eşitlikçi ekonomik büyüme açısından önem taşımaktadır. Eğitim politikaları ise, kadınların beşerî sermayelerini artırarak işgücü piyasasına erişimlerini kolaylaştıran temel araçlar arasında yer almaktadır. Kamu eğitim harcamalarının kadın ve erkek istihdam oranları arasındaki fark üzerindeki etkisi hem harcamanın türüne hem de hedeflenen eğitim düzeyine göre farklılık gösterebilir. Bu çerçevede, çalışmada, Avrupa ülkelerinde kamu eğitim harcamalarının toplumsal cinsiyet temelli istihdam açığı üzerindeki etkileri Panel ARDL yöntemiyle analiz edilmektedir. Çalışmada, 30 Avrupa ülkesinin 2014–2022 yılları arasındaki verileri kullanılarak analiz yapılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular, özellikle ortaöğretim ve yükseköğretime yönelik kamu harcamalarının uzun vadede toplumsal cinsiyet temelli istihdam farkını azaltmada anlamlı ve istatistiksel olarak güçlü bir etkiye sahip olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Buna karşılık, eğitim sübvansiyonlarının uzun vadeli etkisi istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmamıştır. Sonuçlar, kamu eğitim politikalarının yalnızca toplam harcama miktarına odaklanmakla kalmayıp, harcamanın niteliği, hedef kitlesi ve eğitim düzeyi gibi boyutlarının da dikkate alınması gerektiğine işaret etmektedir. Bu bağlamda çalışma, kamu eğitim harcamalarının toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği üzerindeki ayrıştırılmış etkilerine ilişkin literatürdeki boşluğu doldurmayı ve cinsiyete duyarlı kamu politikalarının tasarımına yönelik kanıta dayalı katkılar sunmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Toplumsal Cinsiyete Duyarlı İstihdam Açığı
• Kamu Eğitim Harcamaları
• Panel ARDL

Mind The Gap: Public Education Expenditures and Gender Employment in Europe

Abstract

Reducing gender-based employment gaps is vital for sustainable development and equitable economic growth. Education policies are among the key tools for increasing women's human capital and facilitating their access to the labor market. The impact of public education expenditures on the gender gap in employment rates may vary depending on both the type of expenditure and the targeted level of education. In this context, the study analyzes the effects of public education expenditures on the gender-based employment gap in European countries using the Panel ARDL method. The study analyzes data from 30 European countries between 2014 and 2022. The findings reveal that public spending on secondary and higher education, in particular, has a significant and statistically strong effect on reducing the gender-based employment gap in the long term. In contrast, the long-term effect of education subsidies was not found to be statistically significant. The results indicate that public education policies should not only focus on the total amount of spending but also consider the quality of spending, the target audience, and the level of education. In this context, the study aims to fill the gap in the literature on the disaggregated effects of public education spending on gender equality and to provide evidence-based contributions to the design of gender-sensitive public policies.

Keywords

• Gender Sensitive Employment Gap
• Public Education Expenditures
• Panel ARDL

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