FİNANSAL MEMNUNİYET ÜZERİNDE NİSPİ GELİRİN EĞİTİME KIYASLA BASKIN ROLÜ: TÜRKİYE ÖRNEĞİ

Öz

Bu çalışma, Türkiye örneğinde finansal memnuniyetin belirleyicilerini konumsal gelir algısı ve eğitim düzeyi çerçevesinde incelemektedir. Analizler, Dünya Değerler Araştırması’nın yedinci dalga verilerine dayanmaktadır. Finansal memnuniyetin sıralı yapısı dikkate alınarak ampirik analizlerde sıralı lojistik regresyon modeli kullanılmış ve bulgular ortalama marjinal etkiler aracılığıyla yorumlanmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlar, finansal memnuniyetin yalnızca eğitim ya da demografik faktörlerle açıklanamayacağını; bireylerin kendilerini algıladıkları gelir konumunun belirleyici bir rol oynadığını göstermektedir. Üç aşamalı model bulguları, eğitimin başlangıçta finansal memnuniyet üzerinde pozitif bir etkiye sahip olduğunu, ancak konumsal gelir algısı modele dâhil edildiğinde bu etkinin zayıfladığını ve bazı durumlarda istatistiksel anlamlılığını kaybettiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Buna karşılık, kendini gelir skalasında daha düşük bir konumda değerlendiren bireylerde finansal memnuniyet olasılığı belirgin biçimde azalmakta; daha yüksek konumda değerlendiren bireylerde ise anlamlı ve istikrarlı bir artış gözlenmektedir. Ayrıca model uyumundaki iyileşme, finansal memnuniyetin konumsal gelir algısına yüksek düzeyde duyarlı olduğunu göstermektedir. Eğitim ile konumsal gelir algısı arasındaki etkileşim, nispi gelirin etkisinin eğitim gruplarına göre farklılaştığını ortaya koymakta; düşük konumsal gelir algısının bazı eğitim düzeylerinde daha güçlü memnuniyet kayıpları yarattığı görülmektedir. Farklı model spesifikasyonları ve alternatif bağımlı değişken tanımları kullanılarak gerçekleştirilen sağlamlık analizleri, elde edilen bulguların yönü ve anlamlılığının büyük ölçüde korunduğunu göstermektedir. Sonuç olarak çalışma, finansal memnuniyetin açıklanmasında konumsal gelir algısının merkezi rolünü vurgulayarak literatüre katkı sağlamayı amaçlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Finansal Memnuniyet
• Nispi Gelir
• Eğitim Heterojenliği
• Türkiye

THE DOMINANT ROLE OF RELATIVE INCOME OVER EDUCATION IN FINANCIAL SATISFACTION: THE CASE OF TURKEY

Öz

This study examines the determinants of financial satisfaction in the case of Türkiye within the framework of positional income perception and education level. The analysis is based on data from the seventh wave of the World Values Survey. Considering the ordinal nature of financial satisfaction, an ordered logistic regression model is employed, and the results are interpreted through average marginal effects. The findings indicate that financial satisfaction cannot be explained solely by education or demographic factors; rather, individuals’ perceived position in the income hierarchy plays a decisive role. The results of the three-stage models show that education initially has a positive effect on financial satisfaction; however, this effect weakens and, in some cases, loses statistical significance once positional income perception is included in the model. In contrast, individuals who perceive themselves at lower positions on the income scale have a significantly lower probability of reporting high financial satisfaction, whereas those who perceive themselves at higher positions exhibit a consistent and significant increase. Moreover, improvements in model fit suggest that financial satisfaction is highly sensitive to positional income perception. The interaction between education and positional income indicates that the effect of relative income varies across education groups, with low positional income perception leading to stronger declines in satisfaction among certain education levels. Robustness checks, conducted using alternative model specifications and different definitions of the dependent variable, confirm that the direction and statistical significance of the main findings are largely preserved. Overall, the study aims to contribute to the literature by emphasizing the central role of positional income perception in explaining financial satisfaction.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Financial Satisfaction
• Relative Income
• Educational Heterogeneity
• Türkiye

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