Rural–Urban Living and Level of Economic Development as Factors in Subjective Well-Being

2015 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 693-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Requena
2019 ◽  
pp. 128-134
Author(s):  
Ksenia V. Bagmet

The article provides an empirical test of the hypothesis of the influence of the level of economic development of the country on the level of development of its social capital based on panel data analysis. In this study, the Indices of Social Development elaborated by the International Institute of Social Studies under World Bank support are used as an indicators of social capital development as they best meet the requirements for complexity (include six integrated indicators of Civic Activism, Clubs and Associations, Intergroup Cohesion, Interpersonal Safety and Trust, Gender Equality, Inclusion of Minorities), comprehensiveness of measurement, sustainability. In order to provide an empirical analysis, we built a panel that includes data for 20 countries divided into four groups according to the level of economic development. The first G7 countries (France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom); the second group is the economically developed countries, EU members and Turkey, the third group is the new EU member states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania); to the fourth group – post-Soviet republics (Armenia, Georgia, Russian Federation, Ukraine). The analysis shows that the parameters of economic development of countries cannot be completely excluded from the determinants of social capital. Indicators show that the slowdown in economic growth leads to greater cohesion among people in communities, social control over the efficiency of distribution and use of funds, and enforcement of property rights. The level of tolerance to racial diversity and the likelihood of negative externalities will depend on the change in the rate of economic growth. Also, increasing the well-being of people will have a positive impact on the level of citizens’ personal safety, reducing the level of crime, increasing trust. Key words: social capital, economic growth, determinant, indice of social development.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-144
Author(s):  
Jakub J. Macewicz

One of the vital questions connected with the system transformation in Poland and other former Soviet Bloc countries is whether the overthrow of the communist system was caused by the poor state of their economies or rather people's struggle for their civil rights. However, the “either/or nature” of this question is disturbed by another possibility: it might have been a relatively good state of the economy which made the overthrow possible. Moreover, there is no doubt that the introduction of free market and democracy resulted in many positive changes in people's lives: from the increase in life expectancy and subjective well‐being to the growth of civil liberty. Yet, economic development and (more broadly) modernity also produce extensively described negative effects which, at certain point, seem to “neutralise” their positive ones. Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries seem to follow this path. Sistemos transformacija vidurio ir Rytų Europoje, ekonomikos plėtra ir subjektyvioji gerovė Santrauka Vienas svarbiausių klausimų, susijusių su sistemos transformacija Lenkijoje ir kitose buvusiose sovietinio bloko šalyse, yra toks – ar komunistinio režimo nuvertimas buvo sukeltas neturtingų valstybių ekonomikos, ar žmonių kovos dėl savo teisių? Kad ir kaip būtų, šio klausimo atsakymui „arba... arba“ trukdo kita galimybė: tai galėtų būti gera valstybė, kurios ekonomika sudarė palankias sąlygas nuversti minėtą režimą. Be to, nėra abejonių, kad laisvos rinkos ir demokratijos įvedimas sukėlė daug pozityvių pokyčių žmonių gyvenime – nuo didėjančių galimybių ir gerovės iki augančios pilietinės laisvės. Vis dėlto ekonomikos plėtra ir modernumas taip pat sukelia plačiai aprašytų negatyvių pasekmių, kurios tam tikrais atvejais naikina pozityviąsias. Lenkija ir kitos Vidurio bei Rytų Europos šalys eina šiuo keliu.


Author(s):  
Jianke Yang ◽  
Qi Wang

AbstractBased on a large sample of survey data collected from 12 Chinese provinces, municipalities directly under the central government and autonomous regions in the western regions of China, this article discusses the subjective well-being of the residents of all ethnic groups in the western regions, along the two dimensions of economic development and social integration. The results show that the overall subjective well-being of all ethnic groups in Western China is good, and the percentage of people who indicated that they often feel happy is generally higher than the percentage of those who often feel unhappy. The residents of ethnic minority status such as the Huis and the Uyghurs experience good subjective well-being more often than residents of other ethnic groups. Microscopic indicators, such as the level of household income, and macroscopic indicators, such as the level of regional economic development, can exert significant positive impacts on the subjective well-being of residents from various ethnic groups. In addition, emotional integration, trust-based integration, and integration through communication—as important variables of social identity and social acceptance—can also have significant positive impacts on improving the subjective well-being of residents of all ethnic groups. The article concludes that, for the residents of all ethnic groups living in the less developed western regions of China, economic development and increased income remain the key means of improving the subjective well-being, and promoting inter-ethnic interactions and strengthening social integration are also positive methods of effectively improving the subjective well-being.


2010 ◽  
pp. 1.000-53.000
Author(s):  
Daniel W. Sacks ◽  
◽  
Betsey Stevenson ◽  
Justin Wolfers ◽  
◽  
...  

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