Thesis--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.51-52).

Thesis (MSpor)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

The relative income is often cited as a reason why happiness of nations does not grow in time with growing GDP. The study replicates the methodology of several different researchers from basic scatterplots, standard OLS and ordered probit models to hierarchical linear multilevel models (HLM). The results provide evidence that the happiness is actually rising with the growing GDP, although slowly and with the GDP measured in logarithm. On the contrary, the relevance of relative income to happiness is ambiguous through all the proposed models. Furthermore, the individual characteristics like marital status or employment status are proved to explain the differences in happiness much better than income. Finally it is shown that income has similar effects on different measurements of subjective well-being (health, happiness and emotional well-being).

What makes people happy? Philosophers have asked this question for over 2000 years, and more recently, it has sparked the interest of researchers in both economics and psychology. The present dissertation unites five studies on the determinants of subjective well-being. Study 1 investigates whether certain pursuits, such as spending more time with other people, are particularly suited to increase life satisfaction. Study 2 turns to an indicator of the absence of well-being, worries, and how they are affected by both age and external world events. Moving on to potential moderators, Study 3 tests the popular notion that overall life satisfaction is an aggregate of satisfaction with different life domains, weighted by the importance of the respective domains. Study 4 investigates whether age is an important moderator, as it seems plausible that different things matter to people in different life stages. Lastly, Study 5 provides a critique of a popular conceptualization of happiness in which its causes—genes, life circumstances, and volitional activities—are decomposed and compared quantitatively. Discussing problems underlying this reasoning naturally leads to challenges for future research on well-being which concludes this dissertation.

The relationship between income inequality and happiness is central to a host of welfare policies. If higher income inequality puts people down, advocating for income redistribution from the rich to the poor could make society happier. We show, however, that this popular consensus on the relationship's direction is rather absent in the academic literature. Based on the 868 observations col- lected from 53 studies and controlling for 62 aspects of study design, we use state-of-the-art meta-analysis techniques to identify several important drivers of the efect. Unless each study gets the same weight, the literature is driven by publication bias pushing the estimates against the popular consensus. While geographical diferences dominate among the systematic infuences of the re- lationship's magnitude, the relationship is also strongly afected by various methods and data the authors use in the primary studies. Most prominently, it matters if authors control for diferent individual's characteristics, such as perceived trust in people or their health status.

本研究は、経済発展の段階が異なるアジアの７カ国(日本・韓国・中国・マレーシア・タイ・ベトナム・ミャンマー)を対象に幸福の価値観を明らかにすることを目的とする。分析方法は、順序プロビット回帰分析およびRIF分析を用いる。具体的なリサーチクエスチョンの1点目は、「同地域の国際比較における幸福のパラドクスの有無」である。2点目は、「個人の特徴からみたアジア特有の幸福要因は存在するのか、またそれらに男女差はあるのか」である。3点目は、「国別に女性の幸福は異なるのか」についてである。 / This paper examines what makes us happy in Asian countries; Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, which where at different stages of economic development, by estimating Ordered Probit and Recentered Influence Function regressions. We mainly focus on the following three questions: 1) Is the Happiness Paradox observed in Asian countries?; 2) Are there particular components of individual happiness in Asian countries? Moreover, are the components of happiness the same for men and women? and 3) Do the components of women’s happiness vary from country to country? / 博士(政策科学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Policy and Management / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

In this research four models derived from Terror Management Theory (TMT) were tested by using structural equation modeling.. These models were developed for testing different theoretical alternatives in relation to psychological mechanisms explaining the subjective well-being as an outcome of fear of death. The first two models were based on the original Terror Management Theory. The first supposed that death anxiety as a catalyst motivates individuals in two defenses: developing culturally committed personalities by validation of cultural worldview and thus enhancing self-esteem. The second indicated that every individual had two options in the face of death: enhancing their self-esteem or committing to cultural worldview, in turn, improves the well-being of the individual. The last two models were identified by taking attachment as an alternative variable. In the third model, attachment styles of the individuals were presented as a third defense mechanism in addition to self-esteem and cultural worldview in TMT. They were assumed as mediator variables in the model between fear of death and subjective well-being. The last model treated attachment as a mediator between fear of death and distal defenses of self-esteem and cultural worldview. The results indicated that only the last model was entirely supported.. The lack of support for the first two models might be an indicator of the invalidity of the model in cultures that are not individualistic. For the last two models, the results suggested that attachment was crucial in understanding the relationship between fear of death and subjective well-being from a TMT perspective.

ABSTRACT  Aims:  While the relationship between unemployment and well-being is widely acknowledged, there has been little exploration of its consequences for older workers. It is also less clear whether this relationship differs between welfare states characterized by varying levels of social protection for the unemployed. Thus, the aim is to examine the relationship between unemployment and well- being, considering factors such as age and gender across diverse contexts.  Methods:  Data is utilized from the European Social Survey (ESS), round 9 conducted in 2018, encompassing 25 countries classified into five welfare state regimes (Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Bismarckian, Southern and Eastern), with 44 577 respondents, aged 16-90. Well-being is measured using the variable "Happy" on a 10-point scale. The analysis includes individual-level factors (employment status, age, gender) and macro-level factors (welfare state regimes). Employment status was main activity in the last 7 days. Linear regression models are employed, with a focus on both the entire population and the unemployed within each welfare regime. The analysis initially compares well-being between the employed and unemployed, followed by a focused analysis on older (55 years or older) unemployed.  Results:  Unemployed individuals in all countries reported lower well-being than those employed. Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon and Bismarckian regimes exhibit a significant negative impact of unemployment on well-being, while Southern and Eastern European states demonstrate more modest impacts. Older unemployed individuals generally indicate higher well-being across all regimes compared to young and middle-age unemployed, although the results lack statistical significance. Gender-based disparities in well-being within the Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, and Bismarckian regimes also lack statistical significance, implying an equivalent negative impact of unemployment on both men and women. In contrast, Eastern and Southern regimes exhibit a significant distinction, with higher well-being among unemployed women compared to men. Conclusion:  The negative relationship between unemployment and well-being is consistent across Europe but varies by welfare state regime. Simultaneously, older unemployed individuals report higher well- being, suggesting that younger and middle-aged unemployed individuals may face more significant challenges in navigating the association between unemployment and well-being. This difference may be attributed to the presence of social protection mechanisms within welfare regimes, exerting a positive influence on the well-being of the older demographic, and variations in work culture, such as an earlier retirement age in some countries and lower work norms in others. The non-existent gender differences in the association between unemployment and well- being in the Scandinavian, Bismarckian, and Anglo-Saxon regimes suggest a shared work norm where women should experience similar psychosocial and economic pressures as men when unemployed. Yet, in Eastern and Southern regimes, women exhibit significantly higher well-being than men, which indicate that traditional standard of the man as the main breadwinner is still pervasive in Eastern and Southern regimes. These findings emphasize the influence of contextual factors on the relationship between unemployment and well-being. / SAMMANFATTNING  Syfte:  Även om sambandet mellan arbetslöshet och välbefinnande är allmänt erkänt, har det gjorts lite forskning kring dess konsekvenser för äldre arbetstagare. Det är också mindre tydligt om detta förhållande varierar mellan välfärdsstater som kännetecknas av olika nivåer av socialt skydd för arbetslösa. Således är syftet att undersöka förhållandet mellan arbetslöshet och välbefinnande, med hänsyn till faktorer som ålder och kön i olika sammanhang.  Metod:  Data används från European Social Survey (ESS), omgång 9 genomförd 2018, omfattande 25 länder indelade i fem välfärdstatsregimer (Skandinavisk, Anglo-Saxisk, Bismarckiansk, Södra och Östra Europa), med 44 577 respondenter i åldrarna 16–90. Välbefinnande mäts med variabeln "Lycka" på en 10-gradig skala. Analysen inkluderar individuella faktorer (sysselsättningsstatus, ålder, kön) och makrofaktorer (välfärdsstatsregimer). Sysselsättningsstatus var huvudaktivitet de senaste 7 dagarna. Linjära regressionsmodeller används, med fokus på både hela populationen och de arbetslösa inom varje välfärdsregim. Inledningsvis jämförs välbefinnandet mellan de sysselsatta och arbetslösa, följt av en detaljerad analys av äldre (55 år och äldre) arbetslösa. Resultat:  Arbetslösa i alla länder rapporterade lägre välbefinnande jämfört med de sysselsatta. Skandinaviska, Anglo-Saxiska och Bismarckianska regimerna uppvisar en signifikant negativ påverkan av arbetslöshet på välbefinnandet, medan länderna i Södra och Östra Europa visar mer måttliga effekter. Äldre arbetslösa indikerar generellt sett högre välbefinnande i alla regimer jämfört med unga och medelålders arbetslösa, även om resultaten saknar statistisk signifikans. Könsskillnader i välbefinnande inom Skandinaviska, Anglo-Saxiska och Bismarckianska regimerna saknar också statistisk signifikans, vilket antyder en likvärdig negativ påverkan av arbetslöshet på både män och kvinnor. Å andra sidan uppvisar Södra och Östra regimerna en signifikant skillnad, med högre välbefinnande bland arbetslösa kvinnor jämfört med män. Slutsats:  Det negativa förhållandet mellan arbetslöshet och välbefinnande är konsekvent över hela Europa men varierar mellan välfärdsregimer. Samtidigt rapporterar äldre arbetslösa personer högre välbefinnande, vilket antyder att yngre och medelålders arbetslösa personer kan stå inför större utmaningar när det gäller att hantera konsekvenserna av arbetslöshet. Denna skillnad kan bero på närvaron av socialt skyddsnät inom välfärdsregimerna, vilket har en positiv inverkan på välbefinnandet hos de äldre, samt variationer i arbetskultur, såsom en tidigare pensionsålder i vissa länder och lägre arbetsnorm i andra. De icke existerande könsskillnaderna i förhållandet mellan arbetslöshet och välbefinnande i Skandinaviska, Bismarckianska och Anglo-Saxiska regimerna antyder en gemensam arbetsnorm där kvinnor bör uppleva liknande psykosociala och ekonomiska påfrestningar som män när de är arbetslösa. I motsats till detta uppvisar kvinnor i Östliga och Sydliga regimerna signifikant högre välbefinnande än män, vilket indikerar att den traditionella normen där mannen är huvudförsörjaren fortfarande är utbredd i Östa och Södra regimerna. Dessa resultat betonar betydelsen av kontextuella faktorer för förhållandet mellan arbetslöshet och välbefinnande.