Investigating Macroeconomic Determinants of Happiness in Transition Countries

Perović, Lena Malešević; Golem, Silvia

doi:10.2753/eee0012-8775480403

Cited by 42 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…For example, amongst many others, the following papers have covered the impact on well‐being of individual and socio‐economic factors such as ethnicity and levels of education (Shields and Wheatley Price, 2005), age (Blanchflower and Oswald, 2008a), marital status (Oswald and Powdthavee, 2007), household composition (Stutzer and Frey, 2006), income and income aspirations (Clarke et al 2005; Bruni and Stanca, 2006) and unemployment and self‐employment (Winkelmann and Winkelmann, 1998; Andersson, 2008), as well as employment in not‐for‐profit as compared to profit organisations (Benz, 2005). Papers have also examined broader environmental influences on well‐being such as civil conflict (Welsch, 2008), German reunification (Frijters et al 2004), Russian economic transition (Frijters et al 2006), drought (Carroll et al 2009) and government expenditures generally (Bjornskov et al 2007; Ram, 2009) and in transition economies (Perović and Golem, forthcoming) (for an overview of the literature, see Frey and Stutzer, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health or Happiness? What Is the Impact of Physical Activity on the Individual?

Rasciute¹,

Downward

2010

Kyklos

131

102

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This paper models the effect that physical activity such as sports participation and active travel, through walking and cycling, has on self-reported health and well-being. The results show that physical activity and active travel mainly have a positive effect on both individual health and well-being. Although, cycling has health benefits, it also appears to involve some disutility, which requires further investigation. Copyright � 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health or Happiness? What Is the Impact of Physical Activity on the Individual?

Rasciute¹,

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2010

Kyklos

131

102

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“…See Table 1 for selected variables and the descriptive statistics for the covariates before and after the implemented lockdown. In the literature, it has been shown that GDP, inflation and unemployment influence happiness (Perovic & Golem 2010;Sacks et al 2010;Stevenson & Wolfers 2008). As we were only working with four months of data, we assume the inflation rate to be relatively stable.…”

Section: Selection Of Covariatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Happiness lost: Was the decision to implement lockdown the correct one?

Rossouw

Greyling

Adhikari

2021

South African Journal of Economic and management Sciences

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Background: Amid the rapid global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many governments enforced country-wide lockdowns, likely with severe well-being consequences. The actions by governments triggered a debate on whether the costs of a lockdown, economically and in well-being, surpass the benefits perceived from a lower infection rate.Aim: To use the Gross National Happiness index (GNH), derived from Big Data, to investigate the determinants of happiness before and during the first few months of a lockdown in a country as an extreme case, South Africa (a country with low levels of well-being and stringent lockdown regulations). Next, to estimate (1) the probability of being happy during a pandemic year, before and after the implemented lockdown, relative to the mean happiness levels of the previous year, and (2) to utilise simulations to estimate the probability of being happy if there were no lockdown.Setting: This study considers the effect of government-mandated lockdown on happiness in South Africa.Methods: We use Big Data in the forms of Twitter and Google Trends to derive variables and ordinary least squares and ordered probit estimation methods.Results: What contributes to happiness under lockdown, except for COVID-19 cases, are the factors linked to the implemented regulations themselves. If we compare scenarios pre- and post-lockdown, we report a happiness cost of 9%. The simulations indicate that assuming there were no lockdown in 2020, the relative well-being gain is 3%.Conclusion: If policymakers want to increase happiness levels and the probability of achieving the same happiness levels as in 2019, they should consider factors related to the regulations that can increase happiness levels.

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“…Researchers have long argued about the constituents and key determinants of wellbeing (Easterlin, 2003;Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005;Perovic & Golem, 2010). One major debate in this area consists of whether one should use subjective or objective measures of wellbeing (Helliwell & Barrington-Leigh, 2010;Kahneman, 1999;Ryff, 1989).…”

Section: The Value Of Subjective Wellbeing Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifestyle and wellbeing: Exploring behavioral and demographic covariates in a large US sample

Eichstaedt

Yaden

Ribeiro

et al. 2020

Intnl. J. Wellbeing

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Using data from a nationally representative sample of 46,179 US adults from the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index, we investigate covariates of four subjective mental wellbeing dimensions spanning evaluative (life satisfaction), positive affective (happiness), negative affective (worry), and eudaimonic wellbeing. Negative covariates were generally more strongly correlated with the four dimensions than positive covariates, with depression, poor health, and loneliness being the greatest negative correlates and excellent health and older age being the greatest positive correlates. We reproduce previous evidence for a "midlife crisis" around age 50 across the four wellbeing dimensions. Notably, although salutogenic behaviors (diet, exercise, socializing) correlated with greater wellbeing, there were diminishing benefits beyond thresholds of about four hours a day spent socializing, four days per week of consuming fruits and vegetables, and four days per week of exercising. Findings suggest that wellbeing is easier lost than gained, underscore the influence that relatively malleable lifestyle factors have on wellbeing, and stress the importance of multidimensional measurement for public policy.

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Investigating Macroeconomic Determinants of Happiness in Transition Countries

Cited by 42 publications

References 23 publications

Health or Happiness? What Is the Impact of Physical Activity on the Individual?

Health or Happiness? What Is the Impact of Physical Activity on the Individual?

Happiness lost: Was the decision to implement lockdown the correct one?

Lifestyle and wellbeing: Exploring behavioral and demographic covariates in a large US sample

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