ECONOMIC RATIONALITY OF STUDENTS AT POZNAŃ UNIVERSITIES. DOES PLACE OF ORIGIN MATTER?

Abstract

In this paper, economic rationality is measured using the tools of behavioral economics, and the extent to which factors such as field of study, place of origin, gender, interest in economics and economic situation affect this rationality is determined. The authors hypothesize that among these factors, place of origin may be of particular importance due to, among other things, differences in the quality of education between urban and rural areas. In order to verify this hypothesis, Poisson regression and data from a survey conducted on a sample of 232 students of universities in Poznań were used. The developed model proved that the influence of both field of study and interest in economics was statistically significant. Moreover, in some cases place of origin and economic situation (if one’s situation is classified as the worst) were also significant factors. The findings from the survey allowed us to identify the profile of the least economically rational student: a person from a town of up to 250,000 inhabitants, in a field of study within the humanities, in the worst financial situation.