scholarly journals Happiness and the role of social protection: how types of social spending affected individuals’ life satisfaction in OECD countries, 1980–2012

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Oda Nordheim ◽  
Pål E. Martinussen
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Social Expenditure ◽  
Individual Determinants ◽  
Negative Impacts

ABSTRACTThe growing literature on individual determinants of subjective well-being has given little attention to political factors. This paper considers the welfare state, and how social expenditure affects individuals’ self-reported life satisfaction. The statistical analysis uses indicators of subjective well-being, reflecting individuals from OECD-countries between 1980 and 2012, with data gathered from the Eurobarometer and the World Values Survey - which are analysed in comparison. The results suggest that social spending should be studied in terms of underlying branches when addressing its implications. The results find social spending to be uncorrelated with levels of subjective well-being when considered in terms of total levels. When considered as types of spending however, a majority of the elements are found to have significant impacts. The findings show mixed results among the two data sets; however, important similarities are found in the way social spending related to health care and poverty are having positive impacts, and spending associated with unemployment and labour market programmes have negative impacts. As the correlations of the underlying elements affect life satisfaction in different directions, total social spending appears to be uncorrelated with subjective well-being, although the true impact depends on which socialpolicies are being promoted through such spending.

Democratic Institutions and Subjective Well-Being

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 685-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Altman ◽  
Patrick Flavin ◽  
Benjamin Radcliff
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Systematic Study ◽  
Real World ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Robust Evidence

We examine how differences in how democracy is institutionalized affect life satisfaction across nations. To our knowledge, this is the first rigorous, systematic study of this subject. Using data for 21 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries from 1981 to 2008, we find robust evidence that citizens report living more satisfying lives in countries with a parliamentary (rather than presidential) executive, a proportional representation electoral system (as opposed to single member districts), and a unitary (rather than federal) governmental structure. Moreover, the findings suggest that the real-world consequences for these types of democratic institutions for human well-being are substantial, rivaling or exceeding other common predictors. We conclude with a discussion of the practical and theoretical implications of the results.

scholarly journals Giving more enhances your happiness: Evidence from Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-34
Author(s):  
Radikal Yuda Utama ◽  
◽  
Herman Palani ◽  
Ahmad Zufar Rabbani ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Probit Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Estimation Result ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Social Expenditure ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Indonesian Family Life Survey ◽  
Personal Needs

Previous studies revealed that consuming activities and spending money to meet needs can improve individuals’ happiness. Our study showed that spending money, not for personal needs also has a big impact on individuals’ well-being. We used 26,464 observations of 4th  and 5th  waves of the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) to predict the expenditures for non-personal needs (known as prosocial expenditure) on one's subjective well-being. The estimation result of the probit model showed that pro-social expenditure had a positive correlation with subjective well-being. On average, those who spend more on charity are happier than people who spend less. We also found that prosocial expenditure among Muslim and non-Muslim observations had different effects on happiness and life satisfaction.

scholarly journals Public Policies of Welfare State and Child Poverty in the European Union

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2725
Author(s):  
Angeles Sánchez ◽  
María Navarro
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Child Poverty ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Tax Structure ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Expenditure ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Government

Combating child poverty is desirable to ensure equality of opportunities across children, as well as fostering the sustainability of the societal well-being for future generations. This paper focuses on the study of child poverty in the 28 Member States of the European Union over the period 2008–2018. We analyse the relationship between child poverty and government social expenditure by controlling it with tax structure (ratio direct taxes over indirect taxes), economic growth and socio-demographic characteristics. For that, we rely on panel data methodology. This paper has verified that the effectiveness of the government social spending programmes to reduce child poverty also depends on the progressiveness of the country’s tax structure. Government spending on health and education programmes could be more effective in reducing child poverty in Member States with less progressive tax structure, provided they reached the average level of public spending for the whole of the European Union. By contrast, a positive relationship between child poverty and government social protection spending regardless of the tax structure of countries was found. In this case, the underlying forces that lead to less effectiveness of social protection programmes are also stronger in the less progressive Member States.

scholarly journals Individual differences and changes in lifestyle behaviours predict decreased subjective well-being during COVID-19 restrictions in an Australian sample

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Brindal ◽  
Jillian C Ryan ◽  
Naomi Kakoschke ◽  
Sinead Golley ◽  
Ian T Zajac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Australian Sample

Abstract Background Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, social distancing practices were introduced to curb infection rates in many countries. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of these restrictions on behaviours and well-being and whether individual differences predict changes in well-being. Methods Australian adults participated in a cross-sectional, online survey during May 2020. The survey captured demographic information; health behaviours; personality traits; life satisfaction and COVID-19-related attitudes, financial concerns, perceived risks and impacts. Results In total, 3745 (86.8% of 4313) participants completed all items. Participants were mostly female (85.7%) and 56.4 years (standard deviation [SD] = 12.6) on average. Over 95.0% of the sample indicated they had been social distancing or isolating. Health behaviours and well-being had generally worsened, with social connections being the most negatively affected. Life satisfaction was significantly lower since restrictions. For changes in life satisfaction, extroversion was a risk factor and openness to experience was a protective factor. Conclusions Overall, well-being was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing particularly in this sample containing mainly older women. In future, it will be crucial to understand why and who may be differentially affected, to encourage behaviours that are protective of well-being.

scholarly journals Family Solidarity, Social Support, Loneliness, and Well-Being Among Older Adults in Rural China

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 319-320
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Zhang ◽  
Merril Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Child Support ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
National Bureau ◽  
Subjective Well Being

Abstract China is experiencing a large increase in elderly population. In 2019, China’s population aged 60 and above had reached 253 million, accounting for 18.1% of the total population (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2020). By 2050, the number of adults aged 60+ would be up to 430 million, reaching one third of the total population (Du, Zhai & Chen, 2005). Considering such a rapid aging process and the existing large number of older adults in China, it becomes imperative to investigate how psychosocial factors affect this group’s subjective well-being. This study proposed that, among older adults, higher support received from each of the three relational sources (adult children, family and friends) were associated with reduced loneliness and improved well-being. Structural equation modeling was conducted using a sample of rural adults aged 60 and older (N= 1142) from the 2018 wave of data from the Longitudinal Study of Older Adults in Anhui Province, China. Findings indicated that support from adult children directly and indirectly decreased older adults’ depression and improved their life satisfaction through loneliness; while support from family members directly decreased depression but did not directly improve life satisfaction or indirectly improve well-being through loneliness. Although support from friends did not have a significant impact on older adults’ well-being, it indirectly improved well-being through reduced loneliness. Findings have implications for programs or interventions targeting both parent -adult-child support and friends support and reducing rural older adults’ loneliness.

scholarly journals How does area-level deprivation depress an individual’s self-rated health and life satisfaction? Evidence from a nationwide population-based survey in Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Oshio ◽  
Hiromi Kimura ◽  
Toshimi Nishizaki ◽  
Takashi Omori
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Area-level deprivation is well known to have an adverse impact on mortality, morbidity, or other specific health outcomes. This study examined how area-level deprivation may affect self-rated health (SRH) and life satisfaction (LS), an issue that is largely understudied. Methods We used individual-level data obtained from a nationwide population-based internet survey conducted between 2019 and 2020, as well as municipality-level data obtained from a Japanese government database (N = 12,461 living in 366 municipalities). We developed multilevel regression models to explain an individual’s SRH and LS scores using four alternative measures of municipality-level deprivation, controlling for individual-level deprivation and covariates. We also examined how health behavior and interactions with others mediated the impact of area-level deprivation on SRH and LS. Results Participants in highly deprived municipalities tended to report poorer SRH and lower LS. For example, when living in municipalities falling in the highest tertile of municipality-level deprivation as measured by the z-scoring method, SRH and LS scores worsened by a standard deviation of 0.05 (p < 0.05) when compared with those living in municipalities falling in the lowest tertile of deprivation. In addition, health behavior mediated between 17.6 and 33.1% of the impact of municipality-level deprivation on SRH and LS, depending on model specifications. Conclusion Results showed that area-level deprivation modestly decreased an individual’s general health conditions and subjective well-being, underscoring the need for public health policies to improve area-level socioeconomic conditions.

scholarly journals What are people saying when they report they are happy or life satisfied

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Americo Baptista ◽  
Cristina Camilo ◽  
Isabel Santos ◽  
Jose De Almeida Brites ◽  
Joana Brites Rosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Graphic Representation ◽  
Hedonic Model ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Hedonic Models ◽  
Single Item ◽  
Small Variance ◽  
Reversed Order

<p><span lang="EN-GB">The study of happiness was dominated with the model of subjective well-being. With the advent of positive psychology the eudaimonic and hedonic models entered the field, but major surveys continue to use single-item measures of life satisfaction or happiness. We study the associations between life satisfaction and happiness, measured single-items with a graphic representation of a ladder and a thermometer, and three models of happiness: the subjective well-being, the eudaimonic and hedonic. The results showed that subjective well-being was the main predictor of life satisfaction and hedonic model also predicted a small amount of this variable. For happiness the predictors were the same but in reversed order, the main predictor was the hedonic model and a small variance was explained by subjective well-being. Contrary to our hypothesis the eudaimonic perspective of happiness was not a predictor in none of the models. These results underline the importance of the interaction between a cognitive or appraisal perspective and the hedonic perspectives for the study of happiness.</span></p>

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