Does a Better Protected Environment Enhance Happiness in European Countries?

Tourism at the Crossroads between Well-Being, Public Health and the Environment: Panel Data Evidence from the European Union

“…First, it is a genuine interest in the means by which political and economic efforts for a cleaner environment, a better-performing healthcare system and an improved state of general well-being, can influence, and are influenced by, open-air activities, holidays and travel. Secondly, researchers and policy makers want to understand how environmentally friendly behaviors influence individuals' subjective well-being and how these emotional states and attitudes can be used to promote more sustainable [5] and more socially responsible behaviors [6,7]. Just as important is that healthy individuals seeking well-being in a natural environment can be seen as more available for tourism and travel, as visitors or hosts; in this case, public authorities would be inclined to support tourism activity for economic and social outcomes.…”

“…Implicitly, the question arises about whether public spending for environmental protection, by improving social quality of life, could also improve the level of happiness in the long run? Trying to answer this question, D'Uva et al [6] state that "public spending on environmental protection responds to a worsening in the quality of life caused by overexploitation of natural resources and aims to restore happiness by providing a more sustainable community development". Furthermore, the quality of social life, together with an increase in the level of happiness, are the result of governments spending on environmental protection.…”

“…Of course, happiness, or rather, the lack of it, a state of dissatisfaction-not only material, but also social or personal-among the population of a country. The perception of authorities' disinterest in the environment or public health leads to higher emigration rates [5,6,31,51,52], the weakening of social cohesion and mediocre economic performance. However, here, we are interested in the short-term effect and in a specific sector, i.e., travel and tourism, namely, does national happiness attract more arrivals and receipts from international tourism?…”