Tarana Shirvanova

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
This study aims to examine the relationship between public education expenditure, student enrollment, and crime among educated individuals in Azerbaijan over the period 1998–2023. Using annual time-series data, the analysis investigates whether education-related public investment and educational participation are associated with changes in criminal activity within the educated population. The empirical findings reveal the existence of a stable long-run relationship among the variables, indicating that education expenditure, student enrollment, and crime dynamics evolve in an interconnected manner over time. The results further demonstrate that both public education expenditure (Wald = 11.356, p = 0.003) and student enrollment (Wald = 27.576, p < 0.001) possess statistically significant predictive power in explaining variations in crime among educated individuals. In particular, the stronger statistical effect observed for student enrollment suggests that broader participation in the education system may play a particularly important role in shaping long-term crime patterns. Overall, the findings indicate that education policy extends beyond its conventional function of human capital development and may contribute to broader social outcomes, including the reduction of crime-related vulnerabilities. By providing empirical evidence from Azerbaijan as a transition economy, this study contributes to the growing literature examining the wider societal implications of education policy and its role in promoting long-term social stability and sustainable development.