More Choice for Better Choosers

Political Freedom, Autonomy, and Happiness

Bibliographic Data

ID6345150
AuthorsSebastiano Bavetta (Department of Economic Sciences, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy), Dario Maimone Ansaldo Patti (0000-0001-5574-2675, Department of Economics, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy), Peter Miller (0000-0002-6896-5437, University of Pennsylvania), Pietro Navarra (Department of Economics, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy)
Year2017
Volume65
Issue2
Pages316-338
Publication date2017-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0032321716650223
OpenAlexW2472099632
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited51

A substantial literature finds that freedom in the sense of an expanded opportunity set is positively related to happiness. A contrasting literature, however, finds that an excess of choice can have socially undesirable outcomes. We test the effect of two types of freedom—autonomy and political—on happiness using five waves of World Values Survey data (1981–2008). We find evidence supporting the claim that equipping people with the tools to direct the course of their lives (i.e. increasing autonomy freedom) incentivizes the desire to investigate alternatives (e.g. political parties) before making a decision. The effect of freedoms on happiness is diminished in contexts where individuals have less experience with evaluating alternatives, such as in authoritarian or transitional countries

Authoritarianism · Autonomy · Democracy · Economics · Freedom of choice · Happiness · Political freedom · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Test (biology · World Values Survey · Computer Science · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Law · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology

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