Economic Theory and Subjective Well-being: Mexico

Several studies have been conducted on the topic of well-being. Most of them, however, have been done in industrialized countries where income is distributed relatively more equitatively and the population tends to be more homogeneous. This paper studies the relationship between subjective and economic well-being in Mexico, a country where the economic differences among the population are more clearly marked.

According to the economic definition of well-being, higher levels of income are associated with higher levels of well-being through greater levels of material consumption. Taking into consideration this definition, it is worth asking just how important income is for an individual's happiness?Existing studies in psychology have found a positive correlation between economic well-being (socioeconomic status) and subjective well-being (happiness). However, this positive relationship is weak and a large percentage of human happiness remains unexplained.

Although the mentioned studies make a good approximation of the existing relationship between income and happiness, the characteristics or specification of the function that generates the relationship between these two variables is often assumed to be linear and positive. The main objective of this paper is to investigate further the relationship between subjective and economic well-being. In this study different specifications and approaches are used to approximate the relationship between these variables.

An empirical analysis is made from the results of a survey conducted in two Mexican cities. The investigation studies the impact of demographic, social, and economic variables on subjective well-being in Mexico. Several hypotheses are tested to identify the relationship between household income and individual well-being. It is found that income does not have a strong influence on neither well-being nor on the probability of happiness. However, people tend to overstress the impact that additional income would have on their subjective well-being. This fact could explain the importance that people place on increasing their income level, and it could possibly explain the relative sense of dissatisfaction once a higher income level is achieved.

The relationship between income and the sense of basic need satisfaction is also explored. A main assumption in economic theory suggests the existence of a direct relationship between these variables; however, empirical results show this relationship to be extremely weak. Results indicate that subjective well-being is positively related to the sense of basic need satisfaction but not to income.

     

Perceived Social Policy Fairness and Subjective Wellbeing: Evidence from China

This study examined the relationship between perceived fairness of social policies and subjective well-being. Two types of policies examined were related to income distribution and social security. Subjective well-being was measured by work and life satisfaction. In addition, subjective well-beings between different income, age, and education groups in the context of perceived social justice were compared. With data from a random telephone survey conducted in Beijing, China among 2,113 respondents, findings from structural equation modeling indicate perceived fairness of social security and income distribution policies are positively associated with subjective well-being. After controlling for income, age, and education, the effect of income distribution fairness on work satisfaction was still positive and significant but had decreased in intensity, while the effect size on life satisfaction had changed little. Effects of social security fairness on both life and work satisfaction were still significant but had changed in different directions after adding demographic variables, in which the effect on life satisfaction had increased, while the effect on work satisfaction had decreased in size.     

Individual- and Neighbourhood-Level Indicators of Subjective Well-Being in a Small and Poor Eastern Cape Township: The Effect of Health,Social Capital,Marital Status,and Income

Our study used multilevel regression analysis to identify individual- and neighbourhood-level factors that determine individual-level subjective well-being in Rhini, a deprived suburb of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The Townsend index and Gini coefficient were used to investigate whether contextual neighbourhood-level differences in socioeconomic status determined individual-level subjective well-being. Crime experience, health status, social capital, and demographic variables were assessed at the individual level. The indicators of subjective well-being were estimated with a two-level random-intercepts and fixed slopes model. Social capital, health and marital status (all p < .001), followed by income level (p < .01) and the Townsend score (p < .05) were significantly related to individual-level subjective well-being outcomes. Our findings showed that individual-level subjective well-being is influenced by neighbourhood-level socioeconomic status as measured by the Townsend deprivation score. Individuals reported higher levels of subjective well-being in less deprived neighbourhoods. Here we wish to highlight the role of context for subjective well-being, and to suggest that subjective well-being outcomes may also be defined in ecological terms. We hope the findings are useful for implementing programs and interventions designed to achieve greater subjective well-being for people living in deprived areas.     

The Relationship between Subjective Well-being and Domain Satisfactions in South Africa

This paper examines the relationship between subjective well-being and domain satisfactions. In the past different models have been specified. The most commonly applied model is the bottom-up model in which domain satisfactions affect subjective well-being. The more recent top-down model suggests a reversed relationship. Finally there is the supposition that the correlations between these variables can be spurious due to the effect of personality characteristics. Empirical research has shown that different models are found for different domains and in different countries. Focussing on the effects of the domain satisfactions of finances, housing and social contacts it has been found that subjective well-being is mainly affected by satisfaction with social contacts in Western developed countries and by satisfaction with finances in East European countries. The question we should like to answer in this study is whether a similar pattern obtains for the factors which influence subjective well-being among the different race groups in South Africa. Interestingly, coloured people and Asians did indeed show the expected effects but the groups with the most extreme living conditions did not. Evaluation of life circumstances by black and white South Africans was determined by expectations for the future rather than by current living conditions. This surprising result is discussed in the light of the political situation in South Africa.     

Correlates of subjective well-being in Northern Wisconsin

This paper presents the results of an attempt to relate socioeconomic status, family status, social participation and personal disruptions of statuses and roles to an index of life satisfaction in rural sectors of Northern Wisconsin. While income, education and occupational status and level of living explain very little of life satisfaction, social participation variables explain somewhat more and disruptions of marital ties, job, physical well-being and residence explain most. Analyses by age and sex show that contacts with friends, relatives and church attendance are more important for the young, employment for the middle-aged and village residence more important for the older persons. The analysis supports the notion that life satisfaction results from the discrepancy between the aspirations and expectations of the individual and his ability to satisfy them within his environment. Education is negatively associated with subjective well-being when other variables are controlled. The influence of social involvement upon life satisfaction suggests the need for a modification of the aspiration-attainment model to include the integrative-expressive as well as the adaptive-instrumental processes of the individual.     

Poverty,Psychological Resources And Subjective Well-Being

This study was carried out for the purpose of explaining the mediating effects of a number of psychological variables (strategies for coping with stress, competitiveness, mastery, locus of control, depression and self-esteem) in the relationship between poverty and the well-being of individuals. To carry out the study, a non-probabilistic, stratified sample was used, with the participation of 918 inhabitants of Mexico City from three socioeconomic levels: extremely poor, moderately poor and not poor. A structural model was used for the analysis and treatment of data, and on the basis of that model, it was proven that there are different trajectories (mediations) through which poverty influences subjective well-being. The findings are discussed in light of the literature.     

Subjective Well-Being, Societal Condition and Social Policy – The Case Study of a Rich Chinese Society

The article looks at whether or not social policy and other societal-condition variables contribute to the subjective well-being of life satisfaction. It firstly argues that social policy needs to pay more attention to the study of subjective well-being. Then, it reviews the literature and finds that people in rich societies generally have higher levels of life satisfaction. But the findings of a social survey on the level of and variance in life satisfaction in a rich Chinese society reveal the contrary. The empirical data reflects a life satisfaction pattern along strong income and class lines. It also confirms that social policy and other societal-condition variables have different degrees of impact on life satisfaction. At last, implications of the findings for social policy are discussed.     

Probing Folk Happiness in Taiwan

This paper examines Taiwan’s folk happiness, which means the subjective well-being of the common people. Subjective well-being of people refers to the judgments people make about their life satisfaction or happiness. Such judgments may include their satisfaction of life as a whole (global life satisfaction) or of specific aspects of life (domain satisfaction). Based on survey data from a large sample, the life satisfaction of people is investigated in two aspects—people’s personal life and their perceived conditions of living in Taiwan, respectively presented as personal well-being and national well-being or societal well-being. The meanings of the well-being findings are interpreted against the socio-political environment of Taiwan. The paper also examines the socio-demographic aspects, including gender, age, marital status, education, income, religion of the folk happiness of Taiwan. It is found that people in Taiwan are moderately happy.     

Social Capital,Government and Democracy Satisfaction,and Happiness in Turkey: A Comparison of Surveys in 1999 and 2008

Based on data from a 1999 and a 2008 European Values Survey, the main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between a variety of social capital indicators, satisfaction with government and democracy, and subjective well-being. Happiness and life satisfaction were used as outcome measures of subjective well-being. The indicators of social capital used in this study are general trust, trust in institutions, political engagement, concern for others, societal norms, and membership in volunteer organizations. The analyses reveal a significant increase in happiness, life satisfaction, and many social capital variables between 1999 and 2008. Generalized trust, trust in institutions, government satisfaction, and democracy satisfaction are positive correlates of well-being, although some relationships are significant only in 2008. Several demographic variables are also linked with subjective well-being such as income, employment status, age, gender, and education. We discuss the findings in relation to the significant societal, economic, and political changes experienced in Turkey between 1999 and 2008. Policy implications are also emphasized such as improved trust among individuals, trustworthiness of government institutions, and functioning of democracy.     

Cognition and affect in perceptions of well-being

The general characteristics and some possible implications of the distinction between cognition and affect in the perception of well-being are reviewed. It is posited that currently-used rating-scale indicators of perceived well-being differ only marginally in the extent to which they are compounds of both factors, and consequently variables that move differently and possibly strongly on the underlying factors will have only muted relationships with the indicators. Two kinds of secondary analyses of data from recent American Surveys are presented which support and amplify this hypothesis, along with some British data. The first kind focusses on the area of non-overlap between happiness and life satisfaction ratings by dichotomising and cross-tabulating the two indicators, and then observing what further variables change diagnostically between appropriate cells of the 2×2 table. Differential trends with age and education, barely discernible in straightforward correlations against the indicators now emerge strongly, along with further interesting differences for other outside variables, notably enjoyment-of-life, affect balance, income and personal competence. The second kind of analysis draws on data sets which include Bradburn's affect balance scales along with a range of global ratings of subjective well-being. The considerable variance in the global ratings which remains after the affect scales are partialled out, and allowance is made for correlated method effects, is attributed to cognition. Starting points are then explored for analysing the role of cognition and affect more exactly by means of path models which include the cognitive factor as an unobserved variable.     

Relative Standing and Subjective Well-Being in South Africa: The Role of Perceptions,Expectations and Income Mobility

Most studies that explore the impact of relative standing on subjective well-being use objective measures of the individual’s relative position, such as the mean income of the reference group or the individual’s ranking in the relevant income distribution. In this paper, using a new household survey from South Africa, we are able to derive subjective measures of relative standing, as information is collected on individuals’ perceptions of where they rank in the income distribution. We find considerable differences between objective and subjective measures of an individual’s relative ranking. Furthermore, our results suggest that an individual’s perceived relative status has a significantly larger effect on subjective well-being than objective measures of relative status based on reported income. We also examine the effects on subjective well-being of how individuals perceive their relative position in the income distribution to have changed since childhood, and what they expect their relative position to be in the future. We find that future upward mobility has a smaller effect than upward mobility compared to one’s past, suggesting that life satisfaction is influenced more by what has been achieved than by anticipated achievements.     

Economic inequality,status perceptions,and subjective well-being in China's transitional economy

Situated in the dynamic institutional environment of China's transitional economy, this study investigates the intricate relationships among economic inequality, status perceptions, and subjective well-being. Empirical evidence is drawn from national survey data collected from urban China. Statistical analyses show that multiple indicators of economic well-being exert a significant effect on self-perceived social status and status change and on subjective well-being. Positive status perceptions further enhance one's subjective well-being. Some of these effects are also moderated by contextual inequality. This study advances the literature by moving beyond income-based measures to examine the consequences of economic disparity. It also shows that status perceptions are the key nexus to probe the impacts of economic well-being and the sources of life satisfaction. Findings further direct our attention to important interplays between the individual-level socioeconomic conditions and the contextual inequality in achieving a deeper understanding of the consequences of socioeconomic inequality.     

Healthy,Wealthy, Wise,and Happy? Assessing Age Differences in Evaluative and Emotional Well-Being Among Mature Adults from Five Low- and Middle-Income Countries

This study assesses the relationship between age and two dimensions of subjective well-being—evaluative and emotional—among mature adults from five low-and middle-income countries. We use data from the World Health Organization’s Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health to contrast the associations of age with subjective well-being when controlling only for gender with the corresponding partial associations when including a richer set of covariates. Adjusting only for gender, we find negative associations of age with evaluative well-being, while the corresponding age gradients for emotional well-being are relatively flat. By contrast, adjusting for further socio-demographic factors results in positive associations of age with both evaluative and emotional well-being. Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions allow us to explore the roles of two factors to account for any unadjusted age differences in subjective well-being: age-group differences in individual characteristics and life circumstances, and age-specific associations of individual characteristics and life circumstances with subjective well-being. While adverse circumstances such as poor health and low income contribute to lower levels of evaluative well-being among older adults, age per se is—ceteris paribus—positively associated with subjective well-being. Even in poorer countries, older age does not need to be a time of low subjective well-being. Policies aimed at preserving income and limiting or compensating old-age disability appear to be key for maintaining subjective well-being among older adults.

     

National Income and Income Inequality,Family Affluence and Life Satisfaction Among 13 year Old Boys and Girls: A Multilevel Study in 35 Countries

Adolescence is a critical period where many patterns of health and health behaviour are formed. The objective of this study was to investigate cross-national variation in the relationship between family affluence and adolescent life satisfaction, and the impact of national income and income inequality on this relationship. Data from the 2006 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: WHO collaborative Study (N = 58,352 across 35 countries) were analysed using multilevel linear and logistic regression analyses for outcome measures life satisfaction score and binary high/low life satisfaction. National income and income inequality were associated with aggregated life satisfaction score and prevalence of high life satisfaction. Within-country socioeconomic inequalities in life satisfaction existed even after adjustment for family structure. This relationship was curvilinear and varied cross-nationally. Socioeconomic inequalities were greatest in poor countries and in countries with unequal income distribution. GDP (PPP US$) and Gini did not explain between country variance in socioeconomic inequalities in life satisfaction. The existence of, and variation in, within-country socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent life satisfaction highlights the importance of identifying and addressing mediating factors during this life stage.     

Does National Income Inequality Affect Individuals’ Quality of Life in Europe? Inequality,Happiness, Finances,and Health

This paper analyses the effect of income inequality on Europeans’ quality of life, specifically on their overall well-being (happiness, life satisfaction), on their financial quality of life (satisfaction with standard of living, affordability of goods and services, subjective poverty), and on their health (self-rated health, satisfaction with health). The simple bivariate correlations of inequality with overall well-being, financial quality of life, and health are negative. But this is misleading because of the confounding effect of a key omitted variable, national economic development (GDP per capita): Unequal societies are on average much poorer (r = 0.46) and so disadvantaged because of that. We analyse the multi-level European Quality of Life survey conducted in 2003 including national-level data on inequality (Gini coefficient) and economic development (GDP) and individual-level data on overall well-being, financial quality of life, and health. The individual cases are from representative samples of 28 European countries. Our variance-components multi-level models controlling for known individual-level predictors show that national per capita GDP increases subjective well-being, financial quality of life, and health. Net of that, the national level of inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, has no statistically significant effect, suggesting that income inequality does not reduce well-being, financial quality of life, or health in advanced societies. These result all imply that directing policies and resources towards inequality reduction is unlikely to benefit the general public in advanced societies.     

The Effect of Income on General Life Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction

Increasing evidence from the empirical economic and psychological literature suggests that positive and negative well-being are more than opposite ends of the same phenomenon. Two separate measures of the dependent variable may therefore be needed when analyzing the determinants of subjective well-being. We investigate asymmetries in the effect of income on subjective well-being with a single-item measure of general life satisfaction. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel 1984–2004, and a flexible multiple-index ordered probit panel data model with varying thresholds, we find that income has only a minor effect on high satisfaction but significantly reduces dissatisfaction.     

Predicting the Trend of Well-Being in Germany: How Much Do Comparisons, Adaptation and Sociability Matter?

Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we estimate the variation of subjective well-being experienced by Germans over the last two decades testing the role of some of the major correlates of people’s well-being. Our results suggest that the variation of Germans’ well-being between 1996 and 2007 is well predicted by changes over time of income, demographics and social capital. The increase in social capital predicts the largest positive change in subjective well-being. Income growth, also predicts a substantial change in subjective well-being, but it is compensated for about three fourths by the joint negative predictions due to income comparison and income adaptation. Finally, we find that aging of the population predicts the largest negative change in subjective well-being. This result appears to hinge on the large loss of satisfaction experienced by individuals in old age.     

婚姻匹配结构与主观幸福感——来自中国大样本微观数据的实证研究

本文利用2006年中国综合社会调查（ CGSS ）数据,研究首次婚姻中,夫妻个人经济状况匹配和家庭经济状况匹配的不同组合与婚后生活幸福感之间的关系。本文发现,无论是男性还是女性,在控制了年龄、年龄的平方、受教育年限、民族、政治面貌、户口、宗教信仰、工作满意程度、个人健康满意程度、人际关系满意程度、住房状况、家庭经济状况、家庭关系满意程度以及省份哑变量等变量的情况下,相对于“门当户对”,家庭经济状况为“男低女高”婚配结构的生活会更幸福。在分组回归中,本文进一步发现,以“个人经济状况和家庭、经济状况同为门当户对”作为基准组,“个人经济状况为门当户对,且家庭经济状况为男低女高”的婚配结构会更幸福。如果家庭经济状况为“男低女高”是男女双方为了追求爱情而冲破传统“门第”观点的结果,那么,本文发现的引申含义是基于爱情的婚姻会更幸福。     

Life Satisfaction and Income Comparison Effects in Turkey

This paper evaluates the relative impact of different types of benchmarks such as internal and external comparisons on subjective well-being in Turkey. There are few studies on life satisfaction for Turkey and they mostly focus on the impact of socio-demographic effects on subjective well-being. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate how reference group’s self-reported life satisfaction is related to the level of consumption; as well as the level of internal and external comparisons and other socio-economic factors. The paper relies on the Life in Transition Survey (EBRD 2011), a survey conducted in late 2010 jointly by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. The survey includes 1,003 observations for Turkey. The emphasis of the paper is based on the concept of income comparisons—both to others in the relevant reference group and to oneself in the past (evaluation) and future (expectation). The main findings are; in addition to household consumption, internal and external comparisons have significant impact on life satisfaction. The impact of comparisons is asymmetric: in most cases under-performing one’s benchmark has a greater effect than out-performing it.