The Determinants Of Happiness: Empirical Evidence Of Java Island

Happiness research on economics has increasingly developed since Easterlin Paradox appeared. This research tries to analyze the determinants of happiness in Java Island, Indonesia. We use data from the Happiness Measurement Survey 2017 conducted by the BPS-Statistic Agency of Indonesia. Taking 23,456 observations, we employ binary logistic regression to test the effects of 13 independent variables on happiness. The results showed that income, education, health, social relations with family and society, environmental conditions, and a meaningful life affect happiness. In general, these findings strengthen some previous studies findings.

Happiness Policy: Technocratic or Democratic?

While current happiness research has made significant progress, happiness policy, by contrast, is based on two simplistic assumptions: first, that politicians and public administrators are sufficiently informed about what influences subjective life satisfaction; and second, that politicians and public administrators will solely pursue the well-being of the population. However, in a democracy, happiness policy takes the results of happiness research to be only one ingredient (albeit an important one) in the wider political process. Critically, a political discourse that engages citizens, rather than a technocratic approach, is the way forward when considering the advantages and disadvantages of particular happiness policies.