Wealth Of Nations,Individual Income andLife Satisfaction in 42 Countries:A Multilevel Approach

In this study, individual and contextualdeterminants of life satisfaction in 42countries were examined. The question wasaddressed whether income at the individuallevel and wealth at the national level affectlife satisfaction of individuals. In addition,the hypothesis was tested whether therelationship between income and lifesatisfaction is stronger in poor countries thanin more prosperous ones. Multilevel modelingallows differentiating between main andinteraction effects of group and individuallevel variables on the dependent variable. Itwas used to explore a possible multilevelstructure in the data, in which individuals areviewed as micro observations and countries asmacro observations. The results showed that, inaddition to and independent of individualincome, the economic prosperity of a nationcontributed to a person's life satisfactionlevel. Also, the hypothesized cross-levelinteraction between wealth and income wastested and found significant: poor peopleliving in poor countries were less satisfiedwith their lives than poor people living inaffluent countries. Moreover, complex variationin life satisfaction was found at thewithin-nation level: poor individuals variedmore in their life satisfaction than richindividuals.     

The Missing Link: Deficits of Country-Level Studies. A Review of 22 Articles Explaining Life Satisfaction

To explain country differences in an analytical or structural dependent variable, the application of a macro–micro-model containing contextual hypotheses is necessary. Our methodological study examines whether empirical studies apply such a model. We propose that a theoretical base for country differences is well described in multilevel studies, but aggregate and individual data analyses fail to specify contextual hypotheses ex ante (in the theory section of an article) and instead elaborate on macro–micro explanations ex post (in the discussion section). To test our assumptions, we analyzed 22 studies published in journals cited in the Social Science Citation Index between 2007 and 2010, which compare countries with respect to life satisfaction. Results are in accordance with our expectations. We conclude that cross-country comparisons should apply a macro–micro-model theoretically and empirically, if possible, and include the meso level, if appropriate. In case of insufficient data (i. e. only individual level or aggregate level data), applying a macro–micro-model theoretically may prevent premature conclusions.     

Association Between Caregiving, Meaning in Life, and Life Satisfaction Beyond 50 in an Asian Sample: Age as a Moderator

The association between caregiving, meaning in life, and life satisfaction was examined in sample of 519 older Asian adults beyond 50?years of age. Two hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine age as moderator of the associations between caregiving, meaning in life, and life satisfaction. Age moderated the association between caregiving and life satisfaction; the association between caregiving and life satisfaction was statistically significant for the middle adulthood group but not for the late adulthood group. Age moderated the association between meaning in life and life satisfaction; the association between meaning in life and life satisfaction was statistically significant for both groups, but it was stronger in magnitude for the late adulthood group compared to the middle adulthood group. These findings highlight that there are certain key developmental tasks encountered by individuals at the middle and late adulthood stages, and that these distinctive relevant tasks at various developmental stages differentially predict individuals?? life satisfaction in an Asian sample.     

Core Self-evaluations as Mediator and Moderator of the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Life Satisfaction

Using data from the European Social Survey, we examine the overall life satisfaction of individuals, focusing on the influence of belonging to an ethnic minority group. Building on the existing literature, we control for immigrant and citizenship statuses and discrimination perceptions as well as several commonly-used socio-demographic variables. Through the use of interaction terms in an ordered probit model, we demonstrate that the magnitude of the negative impact of discrimination perceptions depends on the type of discrimination as well as minority membership status. Similarly, we find that first and second generation immigrants differ in their levels of life satisfaction and also according to whether they consider themselves as an ethnic minority member. Citizenship status turns out to be of secondary relevance since it is found to be a significant factor only in models that exclude the immigration variables. In the presence of the aforementioned control variables, ethnic minority membership is also found not to have a universal stand-alone effect on life satisfaction, but only for individuals with certain attributes as indicated by the interaction terms in the empirical model.     

Is Subjective Well-Being of Concern to Potential Migrants from Latin America?

This paper examines the effect of life satisfaction on intention to migrate abroad using survey data on 18 Latin American countries. Three key findings emerge that support life satisfaction as a significant driver of intention to migrate abroad. First, the findings suggest that reporting high life satisfaction is negatively associated with intention to migrate abroad controlling for education and other background factors. Second, I find a consistently negative and significant effect of the interaction between high life satisfaction and education suggesting that more educated individuals reporting high life satisfaction are less likely to consider migrating abroad as compared to more educated individuals reporting low life satisfaction. And third, even after controlling for consumption and relative deprivation the negative effect of the high life satisfaction and education interaction term on intention to migrate abroad remains statistically significant suggesting that international migration decisions of those with higher education are not solely driven by economic motives. In addition, I find that those who are highly educated (college and higher) are more likely to consider migrating abroad, holding life satisfaction, consumption, and relative deprivation constant, mainly due to weak economic outlook of and low wages in the home country.     

The Impact of Democracy on Well-being

Can governance impact directly on well-being? In this paper we examine subjective well-being using data for a cross section of countries from the World Values data set. We find that regional democratic satisfaction impacts on both individual happiness and life satisfaction. However, the impact is less evident for women, rich people and for those in rich countries. The fact that the governance variable analysis is based on regional differences in democratic satisfaction reminds us that governance and indeed happiness often differs within countries as well as between them. The use of regional satisfaction in this manner helps overcome endogeneity problems which would be present if we were to use individual democratic satisfaction. Other significant determinants of happiness include settlement size, marital status, income, unemployment and being part of a linguistic minority/majority grouping.     

Economic Disparities and Life Satisfaction in European Regions

This paper investigates the role of economic variables in predicting regional disparities in reported life satisfaction of European Union (EU) citizens. European subnational units (regions) are defined according to the first-level EU nomenclature of territorial units. We use multilevel modeling to explicitly account for the hierarchical nature of our data, respondents within regions and countries, and for understanding patterns of variation within and between regions. Main findings are that personal income matters more in poor regions than in rich regions, a pattern that still holds for regions within the same country. Being unemployed is negatively associated with life satisfaction even after controlled for income variation. Living in high unemployment regions does not alleviate the unhappiness of being out of work. After controlling for individual characteristics and modeling interactions, regional differences in life satisfaction still remain, confirming that regional dimension is relevant for life satisfaction.     

The Metrics of Subjective Wellbeing Data: An Empirical Evaluation of the Ordinal and Cardinal Comparability of Life Satisfaction Scores

This paper is motivated by the lack of consensus on the metrics of subjective wellbeing measurement scales. Subjective wellbeing data are frequently treated as though they are cardinally comparable both across and within individuals, though very little evidence exists to support these assumptions. Because wellbeing cannot be observed directly, cardinality must remain an assumption, which is usually imposed based on statistical convenience rather than on reason. The premise of this paper is that it is both possible and useful to make this assumption more informed. The analysis applies the principle of simultaneous conjoint measurement to improve our understanding of what information is contained within subjective wellbeing scores. Specifically, the metrics of the eleven-point numeric life satisfaction scale is evaluated using the MH5 mental health survey instrument. Under the assumption that the response function for MH5 is identifiable by the Rasch model, the shape of the response function for life satisfaction is potentially observable indirectly via the association between life satisfaction and MH5. The results presented here suggest life satisfaction scores are ordinally distinct, in terms of these mental health data, which supports the assumption of ordinal comparability. Under the aforementioned assumption, these scores are also approximately equidistant, which supports cardinal comparability. This pattern is found both across individuals and within individuals across time.     

Some Thoughts on Causation as It Relates to Demography and Population Studies

The counterfactual account of causality defines an effect as the difference, for some unit, between an outcome under an observed treatment and an outcome under a hypothetical alternative. When units are heterogeneous in a population, there is no single causal effect. The micro‐level account of causation is complicated when units interact with one another, as they do in human populations. The search for causation requires manipulation. But key micro‐level demographic variables—age, race, sex—are not easily manipulated. What are subject to manipulation are the social rules, policies, or choice sets available to individuals within populations. Thus causes are best conceptualized at the macro level, even if their effects are observed at the micro level.     

Life Satisfaction Among Ethnic Minorities: The Role of Discrimination and Group Identification

For most immigrants and ethnic minority groups, everyday life in the country of settlement raises question of adaptation and belonging. Aside from factors such as lower income, lower education and poorer health, being an ethnic minority member carries additional factors that can lower general life satisfaction. Using data from two studies the present paper shows that ethnic minority group members (Turkish-Dutch) have lower general life satisfaction than a comparable majority group (Dutch) because they are less satisfied with their life in the country of settlement. In addition, Study 2 showed that higher perceived structural discrimination was associated with lower life satisfaction in the country of settlement, but also with higher ethnic group identification that, in turn, made a positive contribution to general life satisfaction.     

Good Job,Good Life? Working Conditions and Quality of Life in Europe

Cross-national comparisons generally show large differences in life satisfaction of individuals within and between European countries. This paper addresses the question of whether and how job quality and working conditions contribute to the quality of life of employed populations in nine strategically selected EU countries: Finland, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, and Bulgaria. Using data from the European Quality of Life Survey 2003, we examine relationships between working conditions and satisfaction with life, as well as whether spillover or segmentation mechanisms better explain the link between work domain and overall life satisfaction. Results show that the level of life satisfaction varies significantly across countries, with higher quality of life in more affluent societies. However, the impact of working conditions on life satisfaction is stronger in Southern and Eastern European countries. Our study suggests that the issue of security, such as security of employment and pay which provides economic security, is the key element that in a straightforward manner affects people’s quality of life. Other working conditions, such as autonomy at work, good career prospects and an interesting job seem to translate into high job satisfaction, which in turn increases life satisfaction indirectly. In general, bad-quality jobs tend to be more ‘effective’ in worsening workers’ perception of their life conditions than good jobs are in improving their quality of life. We discuss the differences in job-related determinants of life satisfaction between the countries and consider theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

The domains of life satisfaction: An attempt to order chaos

While life satisfaction is commonly measured as an aggregate of individual life domains, the characterisation of such domains is uncertain. This study attempts to group 173 different domains names derived from the literature under seven headings as used by the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale (ComQol). It was found that 68% could be classified in this way. Moreover, due to the repeated use of some domain names, the ComQol classification included 83% of the total reported data. The ComQol domain data did not differ from single-item global measures of life satisfaction and the within-study variance was lower using the ComQol rather than the original domains. A hierarchy of domain satisfaction was found which was dominated by the domain of intimacy. The other ComQol domains were quite tightly clustered within a range of 1.08 standard deviations. No difference was found between normative data and data gathered from people with a chronic medical condition, but people selected on psychiatric criteria had a lower life quality, most particularly in the domain of intimacy. It is concluded that life satisfaction, and therefore subjective well-being, can be economically and validly measured through the seven ComQol domains.     

Ageing,Health and Life Satisfaction of the Oldest Old: An Analysis for Germany

This analysis uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe to assess the effect of ageing and health on the life satisfaction of the oldest old (defined as 75 and older). We observe a U-shaped relationship between age and levels of life satisfaction for individuals aged between 16 and 65. Thereafter, life satisfaction declines rapidly and the lowest absolute levels of life satisfaction are recorded for the oldest old. This decline is primarily attributable to low levels of perceived health. Once cohort effects are also controlled for, life satisfaction remains relatively constant across the lifespan.     

生育利益调节机制:计划生育走向公共治理

生育利益调节机制是解决人口数量、结构、素质等诸多问题的公共治理机制。该机制是对计划生育的拓展,把生育行为的选择权力还之于民。其核心是通过一系列调整生育收益和成本的公共政策,引导公民自主选择生育,使生育行为微观选择的宏观效应最终符合国家人口政策目标。其理论模型包括宏观模型、微观模型和传导机制。宏观模型是政府判断人口发展趋势、制定人口发展战略的依据,微观模型体现了公民生育行为选择的过程,传导机制是根据宏观模型制定的一系列改变公民边际生育收益及成本、具有生育行为替代效应的公共政策。     

Longitudinal Analysis of the Domains of Satisfaction Before and After Disability: Evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel

The aim of this paper is to analyse the effect of the onset of disability on life satisfaction and five different domains of satisfaction (health, household income, housing, job, leisure) for German individuals. Particular attention is paid to examining whether individuals can adapt to disability over time before and after its onset in terms of satisfaction. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) for the period 1984?C2008, we estimate an innovative fixed-effects model on life satisfaction and each domain of satisfaction for working-age males (aged 21?C58), which allows us to estimate lag and lead effects and thus to test the anticipation and adaptation hypotheses. Although individual obtain complete adaptation to disability in terms of global life satisfaction (5?years after the onset), this adaptation is not complete in all domains of satisfaction. For example, despite the fact that the levels of health satisfaction drop as the individual becomes disabled, after the onset it increases but the levels are lower than those reached before the onset. In contrast, the adaptation is especially faster in the terms of leisure satisfaction (3?years after the onset), household income and housing satisfaction (5?years after the onset in both cases). Our results support the findings obtained in other psychological studies that conclude that the domain of disability extends far beyond health related concerns to encompass the person??s well-being definition of self and social position. Finally, these findings may help policy makers and government to promote social and economic measures and actions lead to increase the scores of global well-being and specific domains of satisfaction of this collective.     

The structural context of family welfare in the regions of Italy

A factor analysis of household-level attributes of welfare reveals three dimensions across the 20 regions of Italy: affluence, nuclear family oriented style of life, and basic consumption. Because the data on which these empirical patterns is based is normatively oriented, these dimensions conform to the definition of social indicators. The three dimensions of regional social structure that resulted from a separate factor analysis of variables selected from the point of view of structural theory were not so interpreted. These three structural dimensions — industrial-urban differentiation, agrarian rigidity, and central government subsidies — predict affluence, family oriented style of life and basic consumption respectively. This unexpectedly symmetrical result can be interpreted in causal or definitional terms.     

Life Satisfaction of Middle-Aged and Older Chinese: The Role of Health and Health Insurance

The Chinese government has launched a series of health reforms to establish universal health insurance coverage, particularly for vulnerable groups, including middle-aged and older adults. However, the current public health insurance system is highly fragmented, consisting of different programs with different levels of premiums and benefits. We analyse whether the universal health insurance system increases the life satisfaction of middle-aged and older Chinese people and to what extent the type of health insurance affects the life satisfaction of this group. Our study is based on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Chinese aged 45 and above, in 2011, 2013, and 2015. We find that the life satisfaction of middle-aged and older adults does not depend on having any health insurance coverage but varies with the type of health insurance coverage, controlling for potential confounding variables such as health status, occupation, hukou status, and other demographic variables. Individuals covered by the most generous program, the Government Medical Insurance, reported a higher life satisfaction. In comparison, individuals covered by the Urban Employee Medical Insurance, the Urban Resident Medical Insurance, and the New Rural Cooperative Scheme reported a lower life satisfaction by 0.155, 0.106, and 0.112 standard deviations, respectively. Our results suggest that establishing a more equitable health insurance system should be the next step in health reforms in China.

     

Measuring Household Wealth with Latent Trait Modelling: An Application to Malawian DHS Data

Public perceptions of crime and victimisation can influence an individual’s subjective well-being. Research into the impact of the fear of crime and victimisation on subjective well-being, however, has been limited; particularly with respect to the relative contributions of real versus perceived crime towards an individual’s self-reported life satisfaction. Improving our understanding of the relationship between crime and well-being is important, as public resources assigned to reducing or controlling crime could be assigned to addressing other social concerns. This paper extends the literature by exploring the contribution of real and perceived crime in an individual’s local area to their self-reported life satisfaction. Our results indicate that: (1) individuals’ perceptions of crime in their local area are far greater than actual levels of crime; (2) the gap between perceived and real crime is widening as real crime rates fall faster than the perceived rate of crime; (3) real crime rates detract more from an individual’s self-reported life satisfaction than perceived rates of crime; however, (4) perceived rates of crime have an adverse impact on life satisfaction beyond those associated with real crime; and (5) there is significant heterogeneity in the life satisfaction effects of real and perceived crime among groups of individuals. These results, together with empirical evidence highlighting successful strategies for moderating perceptions of crime, facilitate the development of more informed public policy that will improve individual life satisfaction and, ultimately, community well-being.     

Quality of Life of Some Under-Represented Survey Respondents: Youth, Aboriginals and Unemployed

Examining an aggregated sample (N=8800) of residents who responded to one of 16 surveys undertaken in Prince George, British Columbia in the period from November 1997 to February 2005, it was found that satisfaction with the quality of life of unemployed residents is lower than that of residents with Aboriginal backgrounds and that satisfaction with the quality of life of the latter is still lower than that of young people. Nevertheless, satisfaction with the quality of life of young people was significantly lower than that of the total sampled population, as well as that of the selected mid-life and retirement groups. Regarding predictors of our three global dependent variables (satisfaction with life as a whole and with the overall quality of life, and happiness) for the three groups (unemployed, Aboriginals and youth) and the total population, we found that the Aboriginal group was most different from all others. Satisfaction with one’s own self-esteem was the most influential predictor of each global indicator for every group except Aboriginal residents. For the latter, self-esteem satisfaction was only the strongest predictor of satisfaction with the overall quality of life. The strongest predictor of life satisfaction for the Aboriginal group was satisfaction with friendships, and there were two domain satisfaction scores tied (friendships and living partner) for most influential predictors of happiness. Self-esteem satisfaction ranked second in strength of influence on Aboriginal happiness and life satisfaction.