Abstract
Very few studies have analyzed the influence of the environment, rural or urban, on the notion of good life and subjective well-being in sub-Saharan Africa and none, to our knowledge, has combined qualitative and quantitative methodologies for this purpose. The objectives of this interdisciplinary study were: a) to understand the emic representations of the good life in rural and urban Senegal and; b) to compare the levels and determinants of satisfaction with life between these two populations. This study was carried out in Dakar and in a very isolated rural area in the North East of Senegal: the sylvo-pastoral zone of Ferlo. A total of six focus groups were conducted for the qualitative phase, while the quantitative phase was conducted on representative samples of the populations living in Dakar (N = 1000) and Téssékéré (N = 500). Our results indicate that, against all expectations, life satisfaction is better in the Senegalese Ferlo than in the capital, Dakar. This difference may be the joint result of less meaningful social comparisons and a relationship with nature as a source of stress restoration in rural areas. However, the lifeworld of the rural Fulani of the Ferlo is being undermined by global climatic disturbances, which imposes rapid adaptations of pastoralism; otherwise this activity, that is not only subsistence but also identity-based, may disappear.
Highlights
Over the last forty years, the issue of well-being has become a major concern for both scientists and policy makers who are gradually adopting this framework to assess and monitor human development beyond simple economic indicators
This section is devoted to the analyses of the focus groups conducted in rural area, but few comparative remarks between Dakar and Tessekereare inserted in order to better understand differences between these environments [for the details of the qualitative study in Dakar, see 3]
The responses among the groups were much less diverse than what was observed in the Senegalese capital, with all individuals agreeing on two dimensions that are essential for a good life: health and material well-being—or more precisely, good health and the need to be able to provide basic needs for oneself and one’s family
Summary
Over the last forty years, the issue of well-being has become a major concern for both scientists and policy makers who are gradually adopting this framework to assess and monitor human development beyond simple economic indicators. The vast majority of studies conducted within this conceptual framework have focused on WEIRDs (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic countries; [1]). Well-being in rural and urban Senegal collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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