Cross-National Social and Environmental Influences on Life Satisfaction
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2243350 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark Suchyta (0000-0003-3213-9798, Butler University), Thomas Dietz (0000-0002-3041-3127, Michigan State University), Kenneth A Frank (0009-0006-4991-1675) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 103 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 66-86 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-14 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Forces (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0037-7732 • E-ISSN: 1534-7605 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/sf/soae072 |
| OpenAlex | W4398223234 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 63 |
Scholars and policymakers are increasingly interested in subjective well-being as a development indicator. However, sociological research on this topic is quite limited, as is research that considers the effects of the biophysical environment on subjective well-being. In this study, we address these gaps in the literature by examining social and environmental influences on life satisfaction, a core component of subjective well-being. We employed multi-level regression analysis using data from over 97,000 individuals living across ninety-six countries. The results demonstrated significant effects of several individual-level variables on life satisfaction, in particular respondents' satisfaction with their local air and water quality and the efforts being made to preserve the environment in their country, as well as numerous social variables, such as income, gender, and employment status. Among the country-level variables, national gross domestic product per capita was positively associated with higher individual life satisfaction. Income inequality had a negative effect on life satisfaction, while wealth inequality, on the other hand, had a positive effect, a surprising finding we contemplate in some detail. The carbon intensity of a nation's economy as well as the proportion of a nation's land in protected areas only influenced life satisfaction when not controlling for the other variables. We conclude by discussing the implications of this research for sustainable development, including the promise of life satisfaction and other measures of subjective well-being as sustainable development indicators
Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Gross domestic product · Happiness · Inequality · Life satisfaction · Per capita · Political science · Quality of life (healthcare) · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Subjective well-being · Sustainable development · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology
Advances and Open Questions in the Science of Subjective Well-Being
Subjective well‐being and human welfare around the world as reflected in the Gallup World Poll
How's life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being
Inequality and happiness
Unemployment Alters the Set Point for Life Satisfaction
National accounts of subjective well-being.
Income inequality and subjective well-being
The Effects of Wealth and Income on Subjective Well‐Being and Ill‐Being
Preferences over Prosperity and Pollution
Subjective Wellbeing, Objective Wellbeing and Inequality in Australia
Happiness, Growth, and Public Policy †
Life Satisfaction and Income Inequality
What Would It Take to Change an Inference? Using Rubin’s Causal Model to Interpret the Robustness of Causal Inferences
Income and well-being
Income Inequality Explains Why Economic Growth Does Not Always Translate to an Increase in Happiness
Well-being over time in Britain and the USA
High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being
Wealth(s) and Subjective Well-Being
Prolegomenon to a Structural Human Ecology of Human Well-Being
Beyond the U-Shape
Time Use, Unemployment, and Well-Being
Environmental degradation and life satisfaction
Outcomes of work–life balance on job satisfaction, life satisfaction and mental health
Multilevel Analysis
Introduction
Boon or Bane? Others' Unemployment, Well-Being and Job Insecurity
Connecting global emissions to fundamental human needs and their satisfaction
Towards a new view of sustainable development
Transitions in pathways of human development and carbon emissions
The role of urban green space for human well-being
Income Inequality and Carbon Emissions in the United States
Impacts of international trade on global sustainable development
Wealth Inequality and Carbon Emissions in High-income Countries
Bad Air Days
Economic growth does not reduce the ecological intensity of human well-being
Human well‐being and climate change mitigation
Ecologically unequal exchange
Happiness is greater in natural environments
Is happiness U-shaped everywhere? Age and subjective well-being in 145 countries
Correlation and Causality
Valuing Air Quality Using the Life Satisfaction Approach
Cross-National Variation in Individual Life Satisfaction
The Challenges of Measuring Environmental Sustainability
Happiness, income satiation and turning points around the world
Advances in subjective well-being research
The Wealth Inequality of Nations
The Unsustainable State
Environmental Quality and Life Satisfaction
Income Inequality and Subjective Well-being
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |