The Effect of Income Inequality on Happiness Inequality in India: A Recentered Influence Function Regression Estimation and Life Satisfaction Inequality Decomposition

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-181
Author(s):  
T. Lakshmanasamy ◽  
K. Maya
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Influence Function ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Inequality Decomposition ◽  
World Value Survey ◽  
Absolute Income ◽  
Happiness Level ◽  
Over Time

It is now an accepted stylised fact that increase in happiness level in any country is not commensurate with growth in income, a puzzle known as Easterlin Paradox. This paper analyses the income-happiness relationship in India and tries to explain the flat happiness response to income change in terms of rising income inequality. Income growth propels inequality and so also inequality in well-being. Empirically the effects of income inequality, absolute income, relative income, rank position and social capital indices are analysed using World Value Survey data for 12 states of India over 24 years from 1990 to 2014. As the variation in the 10-point scale measure of life satisfaction level is narrow, an recentered influence function (RIF) regression of variance and Gini of life satisfaction are estimated. The life satisfaction inequality is decomposed into composition and coefficients effects using Blinder–Oaxaca (B–O) decomposition method. The estimated RIF coefficients reveal significant effects on life satisfaction inequality of various income measures and social capital indices. The B–O decomposition shows that the functional relationship between material aspirations and life satisfaction, contribute significantly to rising life satisfaction inequality relative to changes over time in happiness influencing factors. Reducing income inequality and improving trust, sociability, health, education and employment over time and space could reduce life satisfaction inequality and improve happiness level in India.

scholarly journals Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Norafisha Kamarudin ◽  
Siew Hwa Yen ◽  
Kok Fong See
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
World Value Survey ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
Linking Social Capital ◽  
Using Data

The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between different forms of social capital and subjective well-being in Malaysia. Subjective well-being is observed based on two aspects: happiness and life satisfaction. The analysis using data from the World Value Survey with 1300 respondents. Based on the ordered probit regression analysis, it is found that bonding and linking social capital contribute to happiness. Happiness also increases for those who are more active in associations. However, bridging social capital based on trust of people from other religion and ethnic group as well as people whom an individual does not know have adverse contribution to happiness. Only linking social capital has a positive relationship with life satisfaction. In terms of religiosity, importance of God seems to have positive relationship with both happiness and life satisfaction. Other factors such as health status, income, marital status and education also have the influence on Malaysians’ happiness and life satisfaction levels.

scholarly journals Inequality and Life Satisfaction in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Role of Opportunity

Societies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Teresa Maria García-Muñoz ◽  
Juliette Milgram-Baleix ◽  
Omar Odeh-Odeh
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Political Freedom ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
World Value Survey ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

This study delves into the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being by gauging the role played by opportunities at the country level. Using data from the World Value Survey, we estimate multilevel models to explain cross-country differences in individuals’ life satisfaction. Opportunity and inequality exert a significant effect per se on life satisfaction, and their joint effect explains the puzzling positive relationship between income inequality and life satisfaction in low- and middle-income countries. Income inequalities reduce the well-being of individuals if opportunities are low, but inequality is not relevant for life satisfaction if opportunities in the country are high. Among the aspects of opportunity that really matter, we show that inclusiveness and access to advanced education play a more major role than political freedom or personal rights. Results apply for different social, income, and education groups.

scholarly journals Income Redistribution Predicts Greater Life Satisfaction Across Individual, National, and Cultural Characteristics.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Redistribution ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Cultural Characteristics ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Strong Hypothesis ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Over Time

The widening income gap between the rich and the poor has important social implications. Governmental-level income redistribution through tax and welfare policies presents an opportunity to reduce income inequality and its negative consequences. The current longitudinal studies examined whether within-region changes in income redistribution over time relate to life satisfaction. Moreover, I examined potential moderators of this relationship to test the strong versus weak hypotheses of income redistribution. The strong hypothesis posits that income redistribution is beneficial to most. The weak hypothesis posits that income redistribution is beneficial to some and damaging to others. Using a nationally representative sample of 57,932 German respondents from 16 German states across 30 years (Study 1) and a sample of 112,876 respondents from 33 countries across 24 years (Study 2), I found that within-state and within-nation changes in income redistribution over time were associated with life satisfaction. The models predicted that a 10% reduction in Gini through income redistribution in Germany increased life satisfaction to the same extent as an 37% increase in annual income (Study 1), and a 5% reduction in Gini through income redistribution increased life satisfaction to the same extent as a 11% increase in GDP (Study 2). These associations were positive across individual, national, and cultural characteristics. Increases in income redistribution predicted greater satisfaction for tax-payers and welfare-receivers, for liberals and conservatives, and for the poor and the rich. These findings support the strong hypothesis of income redistribution and suggest that redistribution policies may play an important role in societal well-being.

scholarly journals The influence of daily spiritual experiences and gender on subjective well-being over time in cancer survivors

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-171
Author(s):  
Myriam Rudaz ◽  
Thomas Ledermann ◽  
Joseph G. Grzywacz
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Daily Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Over Time

Cancer survivors are at risk for poor subjective well-being, but the potential beneficial effect of daily spiritual experiences is unknown. Using data from the second and third wave of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, we examined the extent to which daily spiritual experiences at baseline moderate the association between subjective well-being at baseline and approximately 10 years later in cancer survivors ( n = 288). Regression analyses, controlled for age, educational attainment, and religious/spiritual coping, showed that daily spiritual experiences moderated the association between life satisfaction at baseline and follow-up. Specifically, high spiritual experiences enhanced life satisfaction over time in cancer survivors with low life satisfaction at baseline. Also, daily spiritual experiences moderated the association between positive affect at baseline and follow-up, though this moderating effect was different for women and men. No moderating effect emerged for negative affect.

scholarly journals LIFE AFTER 100: IS GOD THE SECRET TO A SATISFYING AND PURPOSEFUL LIFE?

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S524-S525
Author(s):  
Nadia Firdauysa ◽  
Jyoti Bhatta ◽  
Alex J Bishop ◽  
Tanya Finchum ◽  
James Grice
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Ordinal Analysis ◽  
C Value ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Data from N = 111 centenarians (M = 100.88; SD = 1.48) residing in Oklahoma was used to examine patterns in the relationship between the God oriented vs. non-God oriented longevity secrets and subjective well-being. Observational Oriented Modeling (OOM) was then used to conduct an ordinal analysis using concatenated ordering to produce degree of fitness between data and underlying patterns in life satisfaction and purpose-in-life across three time points. OOM is a data analysis method used to evaluate fitness of proposed patterns to data called PCC. Results indicated that centenarians maintaining a God-oriented longevity secret fit a decreased pattern in life satisfaction (PCC = 25.00, c-value = .09); whereas centenarians not maintaining a God-oriented longevity secret fit the same pattern (PCC = 49.18, c-value = .06). Meanwhile, centenarians having a God-oriented longevity secret fit a decreased pattern of purpose-in-life (PCC = 71.43, c-value =.12); whereas centenarians having a non-God oriented longevity secret fit the same pattern (PCC = 53.45, c-value = .28). In comparison to centenarians who acknowledged something other than God as the secret to their longevity, those who cite God as the reason for longevity tend to proportionately maintain a more satisfying view of life, yet experience a deteriorating sense of purpose over time. Results indicate that longevity secrets reflect divergent patterns in subjective well-being among persons living beyond 100 years. This has implications relative to how geriatric practitioners design interventions, services, or programs to enhance quality-of-life for long-lived adults.

scholarly journals Inequality and Social Rank: Income Increases Buy More Life Satisfaction in More Equal Countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 014616722092385
Author(s):  
Edika G. Quispe-Torreblanca ◽  
Gordon D. A. Brown ◽  
Christopher J. Boyce ◽  
Alex M. Wood ◽  
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Income Distributions ◽  
Equal Income ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive Effect

How do income and income inequality combine to influence subjective well-being? We examined the relation between income and life satisfaction in different societies, and found large effects of income inequality within a society on the relationship between individuals’ incomes and their life satisfaction. The income–satisfaction gradient is steeper in countries with more equal income distributions, such that the positive effect of a 10% increase in income on life satisfaction is more than twice as large in a country with low income inequality as it is in a country with high income inequality. These findings are predicted by an income rank hypothesis according to which life satisfaction is derived from social rank. A fixed increment in income confers a greater increment in social position in a more equal society. Income inequality may influence people’s preferences, such that in unequal countries people’s life satisfaction is determined more strongly by their income.

scholarly journals “Development in well-being and social function among Danish hemophilia patients with HIV: a three-wave panel study spanning 24 years”

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie B. Ingvorsen ◽  
Christina Schnohr ◽  
Terkel Andersen ◽  
Lars Lehrmann ◽  
Eva Funding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Severe Hemophilia ◽  
Psychosomatic Symptoms ◽  
Danish Health ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Matched Comparison ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Between 1975 and 1985 a total of 91 Danish patients with moderate and severe hemophilia (PWH) was infected with HIV constituting a major scandal in the Danish health care system. This study describes the burden of HIV infection among Danish PWH by evaluating changes from 1988 to 2012 in well-being, social function, experiencing stigma and openness about disease among Danish HIV+ PWH. Methods Three anonymous surveys were conducted in 1988, 2001 and 2012 targeting all Danish patients with moderate to severe hemophilia. Survey responses were received from 53, 21 and 18 HIV+ PWH respectively. A matched comparison sample of HIV− PWH was identified for each survey-year, using propensity score matching. Differences for each survey-year and trends over time were analyzed using ordinal logistic regression. Results In 1988, HIV+ PWH had more psychosomatic symptoms than HIV− PWH, but in 2001 life satisfaction was higher among HIV+ PWH than among HIV− PWH. Tests of differences in trend over time showed larger improvements in life satisfaction among HIV+ PWH than HIV− PWH, while HIV− PWH showed an increase in educational level compared to HIV+ PWH. Analysis restricted to HIV+ PWH showed an increase in perceived stigmatization. Conclusions Differences between Danish HIV+ and HIV− PWH regarding well-being and psychosomatic symptoms seem to have evened out between 1988 and 2012. However, results suggest that HIV+ PWH still experience stigmatization and lower levels of education.

Vocational Identity Trajectories: Differences in Personality and Development of Well–Being

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hirschi
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vocational Identity ◽  
Relative Increase ◽  
Identity Status ◽  
Status Change ◽  
Identity Statuses ◽  
Over Time

This person–centred study investigated the longitudinal patterns of vocational identity development in relation to personality, the development of well–being, gender, nationality and the attended school track among two cohorts of Swiss adolescents in 8th or 9th grade ( N = 269) and in 11th or 12th grade ( N = 230). The results confirmed the existence of four identity statuses, namely, achievement, foreclosure, moratorium and diffusion. Forty–two per cent of students showed progressive patterns of identity development, while 37% remained in their identity status over time. Students with different statuses and status change patterns differed significantly in their personality traits. Higher neuroticism related to the emergence of identity exploration over time, while conscientiousness related to maintaining or achieving a sense of identity commitment in terms of achievement or foreclosure. Controlling for the effects of socio–demographics and personality traits, students who reached or maintained a state characterized by identity clarity and commitment showed a relative increase in life satisfaction, while those entering a state of identity crisis or exploration showed a decrease in life satisfaction. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

scholarly journals Social capital, economic growth and well-being

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Sarracino
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Comparisons ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

In the long run economic growth does not improve people's well-being. Traditional theories – adaptation and social comparisons – explain this evidence, but they don't explain what shapes the trend of subjective well-being and its differences across countries. Recent research identified in social capital a plausible candidate to explain the trends of well-being. This dissertation adopts various econometric techniques to explore the relationship over time among social capital, economic growth and subjective well-being. The main conclusion is that social capital is a good predictor of the trend of subjective well-being, both within and across countries. Hence, policies for well-being should aim at preserving and enhancing social capital for the quality of the social environment matters.

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