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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2014‒09‒29
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Sara Ramos (Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, Portugal); Elias Soukiazis (Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra and GEMF, Portugal) |
| Abstract: | The Subjective Well-Being status has gained a growing research attention in social sciences during the last decades. The attention given by the academic world to this issue has been followed by the community in general. This line of research is still undeveloped in Portugal, and therefore needs further investigation. The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinants of Life Satisfaction and Happiness as proxies for Subjective Well-Being of the Portuguese citizens using micro-data from the European Quality of Life Survey. OLS regressions and Ordinal Logistic models are estimated to identify the main factors that explain well-being in Portugal. We find that trust in public institutions, satisfaction with material conditions, volunteering activities and employment status have a positive and significant effect on Life Satisfaction. Our evidence also shows that satisfaction with family, satisfaction with material conditions, participation in sport activities, optimism and the marital status are relevant factors in explaining citizen’s Happiness in Portugal. The results are similar using OLS or Maximum Likelihood estimation techniques on ordinal logistic models. |
| Keywords: | Happiness, Life Satisfaction, Subjective Well-Being, Ordinal Logit Models, Factor Analysis. |
| JEL: | C1 C25 M14 I31 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gmf:wpaper:2014-16.&r=hap |
| By: | Victoria Ateca-Amestoy (Universidad del País Vasco); Mariana Gerstenblüth (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República); Irene Mussio (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República); Máximo Rossi (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República) |
| Abstract: | Well-being, measured as self-reported happiness has many determinants, which range from gender to income and political affiliation. When it comes to more or less active ways of participating in cultural activities, leisure has a significant impact in the levels of reported happiness, which is in line with the proposed ideas of Stiglitz et al (2009). We also quantify the likelihood of being more or less happy in relation to different types of leisure activities. Our approach has the advantage that all these cultural activities can be considered at the same time, accounting for the individual impact of each on individual happiness levels. |
| Keywords: | happiness, leisure, culture, well-being |
| JEL: | Z1 Z10 Z13 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ude:wpaper:0614&r=hap |
| By: | Brewer, Mike; Nandi, Alita |
| Abstract: | We assess comprehensively how incomes, employment, housing, mental health and life satisfaction change following a partnership dissolution, using data from 18 waves of BHPS. We confirm that women and children see living standards decline by more than men, on average, upon separation, but find that the fall in living standards is much greater for those women and children formally in high-income households; it is also high for older women with non-dependent children. We find that mental health and life satisfaction decline around separation, but both return quickly to pre-split levels at rates which are little related to post- split circumstances. |
| Date: | 2014–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2014-30&r=hap |
| By: | Miodraga Stefanovska-Petkovska (University American College Skopje); Marjan Bojadziev (University American College Skopje); Vesna Velikj Stefanovska (Institute of Epidemiology and biostatistics, Medical Faculty University) |
| Abstract: | The concept of job satisfaction has intrigued a debate that has extended outside the academic community and into the business and government sphere. Both academics and public managers agree that the existence of participative management improves job satisfaction of public administration employees. Being challenged with the goal of creating a high-performing, accountable and goal oriented government service, public management professionals have utilized strategic planning and participative management. The goal of this research is to explore the role between participative management and job satisfaction among public administration employees. More specifically, the research investigates the use of participative management by the managers, existence of strategic participatory planning process and the communication between the manager and employees. A total of 532 public administration employees, from four cities in Republic of Macedonia were involved in the survey. The research results from the multiple regression analysis indicate that there is a positive association between positive levels of reported job satisfaction by employees and their reporting of participatory management style and participatory strategic planning processes. In addition the research results suggest that the effectiveness of supervisory communication has a significant effect on the level of reported job satisfaction by the employees. The significance of this research is in its contribution to the understanding of the role of participative management in creating a satisfied public administration workforce. Based on the research results, recommendations will be discussed both for managers of public administration and academic researchers in the relevant field. Both business and government leaders and managers agree that an essential ingredient to organizational success is employee’s job satisfaction (Voon et al, 2010). This can be defined as s a positive or pleasing emotional state from the appraisal of one’s job or experience (Locke, 1976). By affecting the overall performance of the organization, job satisfaction affects the reported levels of job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, grievance expression, tardiness, low morale, high turnover and participatory decision making (Lee and Ahmad, 2009). Taking all of this into account, the shift to participatory management in the public sector is almost inevitable and has long been recognized as a critical ingredient in the creation of a more satisfied public administration workforce (Lichtenstein, 2000). However the review of the relevant literature uncovers that there is limited evidence of how participatory management influences the levels of job satisfaction among employees in the public sector. In addition, participatory management and levels and determinants of job satisfaction among public administration employees in developing countries remain scarce. |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/27&r=hap |