Life Satisfaction In Countries Research Articles

Social mobility as a moderator of the association between agency-orientation and life satisfaction: A study in 116 countries

Using samples from 116 countries, this study aimed to examine whether national levels of social mobility moderate associations between agency-orientation (focusing on one's own goals rather than caring for others) and life satisfaction. After controlling for personal income satisfaction and national wealth, Bayesian multilevel modeling results showed that agency-orientation was not associated with life satisfaction in countries with high social mobility, whereas it was positively associated with life satisfaction in countries with low social mobility. Thus, the relationship between personal agency-orientation and well-being depends on national levels of social mobility.

Country-Level Bonding, Bridging, and Linking Social Capital and Immigrants’ Life Satisfaction

This cross-national study examines the contextual effects of country-level social capital on immigrants’ life-satisfaction in host societies. Country-level social capital was constructed by bonding, bridging, and linking according to descriptions by Szreter and Woolcock (2004). We conducted a two-level regression analysis using 3208 immigrants nested within 52 countries included in the World Values Survey Wave 6. Immigrants had a lower level of life satisfaction in host countries with a higher bonding social capital (inward-looking and homogeneous). The effect of age on life satisfaction also varied according to country-level bonding social capital and age-groups. In addition to the effects of country-level social capital, our study found that immigrants had a higher level of life satisfaction in countries with a higher gross national income (GNI) per capita and a lower percentage of immigrants. Consistently with the previous studies, our study also found that immigrants’ key socio-demographics (subjective health, age, gender, marital status, and income level) were significantly associated with immigrants’ life satisfaction. Findings suggest that not only immigrants’ individual characteristics but also the social capital of host countries - in particular, the bonding social capital - play a significant role in immigrants’ life satisfaction.

Parenthood and Life Satisfaction in Europe: The Role of Family Policies and Working Time Flexibility.

The life satisfaction of parents residing with dependent children varies greatly between countries. This article examines how country-level characteristics-the provision of family allowances and formal child care, and the level of working time flexibility-account for these cross-national differences, using data from the European Social Survey from 2004 and 2010 for 27 countries. Parents report greater life satisfaction in countries that offer generous financial benefits to families, high child care provision, and high working time flexibility than parents residing in counties with low levels of support. Results also show that these national contextual factors are associated with lower levels of financial strain and work-life conflicts among parents. These findings suggest that the mitigating effect of family benefits, child care provision, and working time flexibility on the psychosocial and financial burdens of parenthood is a key mechanism in the association between national contextual factors and parental life satisfaction.

When and why is helping others good for well‐being? The role of belief in reciprocity and conformity to society's expectations

AbstractThis research investigates the relation between informal help and subjective well‐being and its underlying mechanisms using a cross‐national perspective. We focus on two potential mechanisms derived from the self‐determination theory and conformity to the social norms literature. From the standpoint of self‐determination theory, helping others is good for well‐being if it is intrinsically motivated, rather than driven by the expectation of reciprocity. On the other hand, from the perspective of the conformity literature, helping others is associated with a higher well‐being when it is linked to the benefits of social conformity, such as social approval. We tested these hypotheses using the data from a total of 23 countries. The results provided support for both mechanisms. First, we found that the lower individuals' beliefs in reciprocity are, the stronger is the positive effect of self‐reported helping behavior on their well‐being. Second, helping behavior was more strongly related to life satisfaction in countries where providing help represents a strong social norm (measured with two different cultural indicators). We conclude that both individual‐ and culture‐level mechanisms account for the relation between prosocial behavior and well‐being. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Is valuing positive emotion associated with life satisfaction?

The experience of positive emotion is closely linked to subjective well-being. For this reason, campaigns aimed at promoting the value of positive emotion have become widespread. What is rarely considered are the cultural implications of this focus on happiness. Promoting positive emotions as important for "the good life" not only has implications for how individuals value these emotional states, but for how they believe others around them value these emotions also. Drawing on data from over 9,000 college students across 47 countries we examined whether individuals' life satisfaction is associated with living in contexts in which positive emotions are socially valued. The findings show that people report more life satisfaction in countries where positive emotions are highly valued and this is linked to an increased frequency of positive emotional experiences in these contexts. They also reveal, however, that increased life satisfaction in countries that place a premium on positive emotion is less evident for people who tend to experience less valued emotional states: people who experience many negative emotions, do not flourish to the same extent in these contexts. The findings demonstrate how the cultural value placed on certain emotion states may shape the relationship between emotional experiences and subjective well-being.

Polityka podatkowa a indeks szczęścia

The article addresses the relationship between taxation and satisfaction with life. What is known as a happiness index was constructed to perform an approximate analysis of the level of life satisfaction in countries with different tax policies. The hypothesis, which states, ‘Countries with a high happiness index need not have high average tax rates but should be identifiable by their progressive income tax, increased diversification of VAT rates and stable level of public expenditure as a proportion of GDP’ was verified positively. The search for the optimal tax policy should take into account not only economic growth but also the growth rate of social satisfaction and the level of social welfare.

Life satisfaction and environmental conditions: issues for policy

This paper investigates the relationship between pollution and life satisfaction in countries around the globe over recent decades. Our empirical model allows both per capita income and pollution to enter as arguments of a life satisfaction 'production function'. The results reveal that pollution has a negative marginal impact on the level of life satisfaction of citizens of countries - although this negative impact is reduced as these countries become more economically prosperous. We conclude that interactions between per capita income and pollution should be considered in empirical studies assessing life satisfaction.