This dissertation combines three contributions to the literature on the determinants of well-being and the social nature of preferences. Departures from self-centred, consumption-oriented decision making are increasingly common in economic theory and are empirically well motivated by a wide range of behavioural data from experiments, surveys, and econometric inference. The first two contributions are focused on the idea that reference levels set by others’ consumption may figure prominently in both experienced well-being and in decision making. In the first paper, the well-being question is addressed empirically through the use of self-reported life satisfaction and high-resolution census and survey data in Canada. Strong income externalities are found at multiple spatial scales after controlling for various confounding factors. The second paper explores the general equilibrium consequences of a utility function having an explicit comparison with neighbours’ consumption. The question is investigated in a model in which decision makers knowingly choose their neighbours — and hence their consumption reference level — as well as their own consumption expenditure, thereby helping to set the reference level for nearby others. For both discrete and continuous distributions of types in an economy with a heterogeneous population undergoing such endogenous formation of consumption reference groups, there exist general equilibria in which differentiation of neighbourhoods occurs endogenously. The novel welfare implications of growth in such economies are described. The final paper addresses econometric reservations about the use of subjective reports as dependent variables. The date and location of survey interviews are combined with weather and climate records to construct the random component of weather conditions experienced by respondents on the day of their interview. Standard inferences about the determinants of life satisfaction remain robust after taking into account this significant source of affective bias. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

China has among the world’s fastest growing urban region and faced enormous environmental and social challenges that requires a forward thinking of urban planning, which integrates environmental sustainability and social equity into urban resilience. In China, national and provincial urban policies have long focused on economic and industrial developments, whereas social welfare was not account for urban planning until very recently. After decades of rapid socioeconomic development, China has now entered an urbanization stage at which social development becomes as urgent as economic and environmental transformation. Rural migrant as a lower social group is a product of China’s rigorous rural-urban household registration (Hukou) that has caused plenty of social tragedies. Although governmental authorities have vowed to elevate rural migrants’ social status, as a heterogeneous social group, rural migrants received very little research attention by far. To examine rural migrants’ demographic information and their social status, this research employs happiness as a theme to carry out a questionnaire survey. In total, 1,267 responses were collected at bus and train stations in Changsha, a second-tier city located in the middle of China. According to the survey, rural migrants’ happiness status is in close relation with some demographic characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and education. In general, men are unhappier than women; the ethnic minorities are unhappier than the ethnic majority-Han; and the highly educated are unhappier than those with lower educational attainment. By performing a stepwise regression, statistics uncover that rural migrants’ happiness status in Changsha is positively associated with a stable income, a job with insurance and a well sustained family tie. Based on the study results, I propose three suggestions for social urban planning in China’s second-tier cities: (1) to set up a commercial district that embraces diverse ethnic groups, where the minor ethnic rural migrants can work and live with their own cultures. (2) To gather rural migrants by industry and establish labour unions that can represent for rural migrants’ interests. (3) To maintain the discriminated Hukou system, but define Hukou identity based on rural migrants’ taxation conditions.     Keywords: rural migrants, demographic characteristics, happiness factors, social urban planning

Objetive: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of malocclusion on COHRQoL and self-reported happiness of adolescents. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional design study with multistage random sample of 1134 12 year-old schoolchildren was conducted at in Santa Maria-RS, Brazil. Four calibrated carried out clinical recorded malocclusion (Dental Aesthetic Index), dental caries (DMFT) and dental trauma (O Brien index). Participants answered the Brazilian versions of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14) short form and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS). Parents completed a structure questionnaire about socioeconomics status. The assessment of associations used a multilevel Poisson regression models. Results: A total of 1134 adolescents, 54.12% girls, were enrolled in this study. The DAI overall score ranged from 13 to 214 (mean: 25.33, standard error: 0.23); 42.4% of the sample had malocclusion and 7.5% had handcapping malocclusion. After adjustment for confounding variables, the severity of maloclusion was associated with high means of CPQ11- 14 overall score, being the social well-being domains the most affected. Malocclusion were associated with lower levels of happiness, adolescents with defined malocclusion present lower scores of the SHS scale (RR 0.97; 95% CI 0.94 0.99).Conclusion: Malocclusion had a negative impact on OHRQoL, mainly on social domain, and happiness. / Objetivo: O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o impacto da maloclusão no grau de felicidade e na qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal de escolares. Método: Um estudo transversal foi conduzido em uma amostra de escolares de 12 anos na cidade de Santa Maria-RS, Brasil, em 2012. Os dados foram coletados através de exames clínicos e entrevistas estruturadas. Os critérios clínicos avaliados foram cárie, maloclusão e trauma. A prevalência e severidade de maloclusão foi mensurada através do The Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). Os participantes responderam à versão brasileira do CPQ11-14 reduzida e a Escala Subjetiva de Felicidade. As condições socioeconômicas foram avaliadas através de questionários respondidos pelos pais. Variáveis relacionadas à escola em que as crianças estudam foram obtidas. Os dados foram analisados através do programa estatístico STATA 12, utilizando o modelo multinível de Regressão de Poisson para determinar a associação entre maloclusão, qualidade de vida relacionada a saúde bucal e grau de felicidade. Resultados: Um total de 1134 adolescentes foram examinadas no estudo. O escore geral do DAÍ variou de 13 a 214 (média: 25,33, erro padrão: 0,23); a prevalência de maloclusão foi de 42,4%, sendo que 7,5% dos participantes apresentaram maloclusão incapacitante. Adolescentes que tinham piores condições oclusais apresentaram maior escore de CPQ11-14 . O principal domínio afetado pela maloclusão foi o bem estar social. O grau de felicidade esteve associado com a maloclusão, crianças com maloclusão definida tinham uma pior percepção de felicidade. A associação entre maloclusão, qualidade de vida e grau de felicidade permaneceu mesmo quando ajustado por possíveis variáveis confundidoras. Conclusão: Maloclusão tem um impacto negativo na qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal, principalmente no domínio social, e no grau de felicidade.

Dans är aktivitet som väcker positiva emotioner och förknippas med bland annat högtider, musik, social gemenskap, motion och andra positiva händelser, vilka är faktorer som kan bidra till lycka. Exempelvis har forskningsvärldens nyfikenhet på fritidsaktiviteter lett till att pardans, som generellt setts som en social och kulturell aktivitet, numera blivit accepterad som alternativ behandlingsform mot psykisk ohälsa såsom stress, ångest och depression. Dock fann jag i min litteraturundersökning att det var få studier som var gjorda där man undersökte socialdansen (pardans utan tävlingsinslag) och dess påverkan på friska människors lycka. Därför ämnade föreliggande studie undersöka sambandet mellan socialdans och lycka. För att besvara frågeställningarna mättes de oberoende variablerna duration, intensitet och frekvens i socialdans med de två beroende variablerna livstillfredsställelse (kognitiv lycka) och välbefinnande (affektiv lycka). Självskattningsskalan SWLS användes för att mäta livstillfredsställelse och PANAS C för att mäta upplevt välbefinnande. Deltagarna var 136 socialdansare i åldrarna 19–70 år, från olika delar av Sverige, med en medelålder på 37,83 år (SD = 12,138 år), där 68 procent var kvinnor och 43 procent var män. Multipel linjär regression användes för dataanalysen. Resultaten visade att endast variabeln duration uppvisade signifikant värde gällande prediktion av kognitiv lycka (livstillfredsställelse). Däremot visade också resultaten av samtliga oberoende variabler; duration, frekvens och intensitet, signifikanta värden gällande prediktion av affektiv lycka (välbefinnande). / Dance is an activity that evokes positive emotions and is associated with, among others: festivals, music, community, exercise and other positive occasions; factors that seem to contribute to happiness. The research community's curiosity within the field of recreational activities has for instance led to the fact that ballroom dancing, commonly viewed as a social and cultural activity, now has been accepted as an alternate form of treatment for mental illness, such as stress, anxiety and depression. However, in my literature overview I found that there were few studies on social dancing (basically ballroom dancing without the competitive components) and its effects on healthy human beings' happiness. Therefore, this study endeavors to investigate the relation between social dancing and happiness. To answer the questions, the independent variables duration, intensity and frequency in social dancing were measured and related to the dependent variables of perceived happiness, life satisfaction (cognitive happiness), and general well-being (affective happiness). The selfreport scale SWLS was used to measure life satisfaction and PANAS C to measure perceived well-being. The participants were 136 social dancers 2 between the ages of 19-70 years, with an average age of 37.8 years (SD = 12.1 years); 68 percent were women and 43 percent were men. Multiple linear regression was used for data analysis. The results show that only the variable duration showed significance in predicting cognitive happiness, i.e. satisfaction of life. However, the results showed that all the independent variables of duration, intensity and frequency showed a significant value for prediction of affective happiness, i.e.general well-being.

This paper contributes to the discussion on the effects of single motherhood on happiness. We use a mixed-method approach. First, based on indepth interviews with mothers who gave birth while single, we explore mechanisms through which children may influence mothers' happiness. In a second step, we analyze panel survey data to quantify this influence. Our results leave no doubt that, while raising a child outside of marriage poses many challenges, parenthood has some positive influence on a lone mother's life. Our qualitative evidence shows that children are a central point in an unmarried woman's life, and that many life decisions are taken with consideration of the child's welfare, including escaping from pathological relationships. Our quantitative evidence shows that, although the general level of happiness among unmarried women is lower than among their married counterparts, raising a child does not have a negative impact on their happiness.

This essay explores the understanding of suffering from an ethical stand point. The issue of defining suffering is not an easy task albeit an important one, depending on the definition different consequences ensues. This essay examines how suffering is defined in the field of bioethics, and how these definitions become apparent through the argument of certain biomedical ethicists. To pinpoint the moral arguments and dilemmas a preexisting case, the case of Baby (or Infant) Doe is examined from each biomedical ethicist’s perspective. From the conclusions gathered from the studies, this essay will then attempt to answer the question of defining and understanding suffering.

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本研究利用中央研究院人文社會科學研究中心華人家庭研究第十五年計畫 (RR2014)的資料，實證模型採用Ordered Probit Model，檢驗全體樣本中個人特性變數、房屋類型變數、房屋特性變數對快樂程度的影響。 全體樣本實證結果顯示，在個人特性變數中，所受教育年數愈長、有伴侶、自認健康狀況良好、對目前生活感到滿意，對快樂程度有顯著正向的影響，而男性、有從事道教活動者對快樂程度有顯著負向的影響。而在房屋類型變數中，居住別墅、透天或居住大樓者相對於居住公寓者在快樂程度上有顯著正向的影響。在房屋特性變數中，花在家具和耐久財設備的金額越多、每人平均坪數越大、住宅有做工廠的用途，對快樂程度有顯著正向的影響，而住宅有做商店用途者對快樂程度有顯著負向的影響。 / This paper empirically investigates the effect of housing on happiness. Using the data of Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PFSD) based on RR2014, our estimation results obtained from Ordered Probit Model show that personal characteristics, housing type, and housing characteristics are significantly associated with happiness. Among these variables, Education, marriage, health status, life satisfaction, residing in villa, residing in townhouse, residing in building, consumption of durables, the average square footage per person, and the house with factory use have positive impact on happiness. On the other hand, gender, religious, and the house with store use have negative impact on happiness.

Happiness is essentially the degree to which you find and judge your existence as favourable, in addition to an enduring, psychological feeling of contentment. In the hedonic view, happiness is pleasant feelings and favourable judgements, while the contrasting eudaimonic view describes it as doing what is morally right, what is righteous, that will enhance growth and that is meaningful to an individual. Both these views contribute to the overall happiness of an individual. People that are pleased with their lives usually experience greater satisfaction in their jobs. This is in line with the literature as happiness is positively correlated with job satisfaction, which suggests that a happy employee will most likely result in one that is satisfied with his/her job. In addition, happiness is correlated with evidence of success in the workplace and can increase an employee’s effectiveness at work. It is, therefore, essential that organisations identify the factors which influence employee happiness in order to enhance its cultural value-offering for employees and, in turn, increase their levels of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is essentially the degree to which a person enjoys his/her job. It is the positive emotional state resulting from the evaluation of one’s work experience. This has profitable outcomes such as improved work performance. Furthermore, people who experience satisfaction in their jobs are better ambassadors for their organisation, demonstrate greater commitment, are more engaged and perform better within the organisation than their unhappy peers. Job satisfaction can be deemed an attitude. It is therefore important to understand the dimensions of the job, which are complex and interrelated in nature, in order to understand job attitudes. Organisational culture has been shown to influence the attitude and behaviour of employees through shared values and beliefs in the organisation. It is for this reason that there is a significant need to determine the factors in organisational culture that influence employee happiness and, in turn, job satisfaction. An organisation’s employees, through their participation and commitment, can be regarded as the most important source of success for the organisation. Organisational culture can therefore, greatly influence the efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation through its employees. Moreover, the culture of an organisation has a significant influence on the commitment and satisfaction of its employees. It inspires employees not only to feel committed to the organisation but also to perform well. The correlation between organisational culture and job satisfaction have been examined by various authors in the literature. All of these authors found a positive relationship between the two concepts. These conclusions show that the culture of an organisation can actually influence an employee’s job satisfaction and therefore his/her happiness. This research investigates the cultural value-offering of General Motors South Africa (GMSA) and its alignment to the needs of its employees. Until the end of 2012, an employee needs-analysis regarding employee happiness and his/her job satisfaction, was non-existent in the organisation. Towards the end of 2012 the organisation introduced a “Workplace of Choice” survey to perform an employee needs-analysis in order to investigate if there was a difference between employee needs and the organisation’s cultural value-offering. Another “Workplace of Choice” survey followed in 2014. This, however, was performed with the staff employees only and not with the hourly employees. Many organisations neglect to analyse the workplace needs of their employees to ensure that the organisation fully understands and is able to satisfy or accommodate these needs. Understanding employee needs is crucial to an organisation’s success. It is therefore important that the organisation investigates the employee needs to be able to align them with the cultural value-offering of the organisation. The purpose of this study is to advance the current understanding of Employee Happiness in the workplace by conducting a systematic analysis of the factors in Organisational Culture that influence Employee Happiness and, in turn, their Job Satisfaction in GMSA.

Diplomová práce se zabývá tématem alternativních ukazatelů vývoje hospodářství, které berou v úvahu úroveň štěstí ve společnosti. Zkoumá, za jakých historických souvislostí v první polovině 20. století vznikal ukazatel HDP a na co tehdy reagoval a snaží se nastínit, co se od té doby změnilo. Cílem je odpovědět na otázky, zda má smysl měřit indexy na základě štěstí a zda již dozrála doba na rozšíření povědomí o nich.