*4.2. Findings*

Table 2 provides the results from the fixed-effects regression models examining the impacts of education finance, the economy, and the educational system on tertiary vocational education. Models 1 and 3 (without interaction effects) and 2 and 4 (with interaction effects) yielded consistent results for the main effects of the variables.

**Table 2.** Fixed-effects Models of Regressions on Lower-Level Tertiary Vocational Enrollment (n = 681, 67 Countries).



#### **Table 2.** *Cont.*

Note: All standard errors are adjusted for institutional clusters for panel data and reported in parentheses. \*\*\* *p* < 0.001, \*\* *p* < 0.01, \* *p* < 0.05.

All models (Models 1–4) demonstrate that two types of tertiary expenditure have statistically significant relationships with the headcounts or percentages of tertiary vocational education. First, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of government expenditure on education (compared to expenditure on elementary and secondary education) was positively related to tertiary vocational enrollment (headcount or percentage). Second, public expenditure per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita was negatively associated with tertiary vocational enrollment (headcount or percentage).

In Models 2 and 4, public expenditure per secondary school student as a percentage of GDP per capita had a statistically significant and positive association with tertiary vocational enrollment. Models 2 and 3 show that the percent of vocational education within secondary enrollment has a positive, statistically significant relationship with tertiary vocational education (β<sup>1</sup> = 6.479, *p* < 0.01; β<sup>2</sup> = 35.01, *p* < 0.01) and the interaction term with country development level in Model 2 is also statistically significant (β2interaction = −6.089, *p* < 0.05), such that a single percentage increase in secondary vocational enrollment is associated with a nearly one (6.479) percent increase in tertiary vocational enrollment in less-developed countries, but with only a much smaller (0.39 (6.479–6.089)) percentage increase across developed countries.
