IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v122y2022ics0264837722003684.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Populations in slums are happier than rural populations: The case of Mumbai

Author

Listed:
  • Coulibaly, Thierry Yerema
  • Managi, Shunsuke

Abstract

In developing countries, research found that rural populations express levels of well-being lower than that of urban populations. However, previous investigations do not compare subjective well-being (SWB) between informal urban settlements, also known as slums, and rural areas despite the large migrations occurring between these two areas. The absence of surveys on SWB targeting slum areas impedes this type of investigation. Thus, this study aims to understand whether rural populations in developing countries have SWB different from those in urban areas’ informal settlements. We use the results of an original questionnaire-based survey focusing on Greater Mumbai’s slums and rural areas for this purpose. We also investigate whether the characteristics of respondents determined by their socioeconomic profiles, social capital, and economic situations in their area of residence explain the difference in SWB between areas. Our results show that populations in slums have, on average, happiness and life satisfaction higher than that of rural populations. Higher levels of happiness are linked to higher social trust and satisfaction with one’s community, while higher satisfaction with life is linked to higher socioeconomic profiles in slums. Issues related to this difference in SWB and policy implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Coulibaly, Thierry Yerema & Managi, Shunsuke, 2022. "Populations in slums are happier than rural populations: The case of Mumbai," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:122:y:2022:i:c:s0264837722003684
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106341
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837722003684
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106341?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph S Shapiro, 2021. "The Environmental Bias of Trade Policy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(2), pages 831-886.
    2. David G. Blanchflower & David N.F. Bell & Alberto Montagnoli & Mirko Moro, 2014. "The Happiness Trade‐Off between Unemployment and Inflation," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(S2), pages 117-141, October.
    3. Erzo F. P. Luttmer, 2005. "Neighbors as Negatives: Relative Earnings and Well-Being," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(3), pages 963-1002.
    4. Bidner, Chris & Eswaran, Mukesh, 2015. "A gender-based theory of the origin of the caste system of India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 142-158.
    5. Xavier Fontaine & Katsunori Yamada, 2014. "Caste Comparisons in India: Evidence From Subjective Well-Being Data," Post-Print halshs-01030774, HAL.
    6. Andrew Chapman & Hidemichi Fujii & Shunsuke Managi, 2019. "Multinational life satisfaction, perceived inequality and energy affordability," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(6), pages 508-514, June.
    7. Sreeja, K.G. & Madhusoodhanan, C.G. & Eldho, T.I., 2017. "Processes of peri-urban resource – livelihood transitions: Glimpses from the periphery of greater Mumbai city, India," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 49-55.
    8. Chen, Joyce & Kosec, Katrina & Mueller, Valerie, 2019. "Moving to despair? Migration and well-being in Pakistan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 186-203.
    9. Jan Nijman, 2010. "A Study Of Space In Mumbai'S Slums," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 101(1), pages 4-17, February.
    10. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-01030774 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Eugenio Proto & Aldo Rustichini, 2013. "A Reassessment of the Relationship between GDP and Life Satisfaction," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(11), pages 1-10, November.
    12. Benjamin Marx & Thomas Stoker & Tavneet Suri, 2013. "The Economics of Slums in the Developing World," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(4), pages 187-210, Fall.
    13. J. Vernon Henderson & Adam Storeygard & David N. Weil, 2012. "Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 994-1028, April.
    14. Camilla Lenzi & Giovanni Perucca, 2021. "Not too close, not too far: Urbanisation and life satisfaction along the urban hierarchy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(13), pages 2742-2757, October.
    15. Knight, John & Gunatilaka, Ramani, 2010. "Great Expectations? The Subjective Well-being of Rural-Urban Migrants in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 113-124, January.
    16. Zhang, Xin & Zhang, Xiaobo & Chen, Xi, 2017. "Happiness in the air: How does a dirty sky affect mental health and subjective well-being?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 81-94.
    17. Mariaflavia Harari, 2020. "Cities in Bad Shape: Urban Geometry in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(8), pages 2377-2421, August.
    18. Mark Shucksmith & Stuart Cameron & Tanya Merridew & Florian Pichler, 2009. "Urban--Rural Differences in Quality of Life across the European Union," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(10), pages 1275-1289, December.
    19. Daniel Kahneman & Peter P. Wakker & Rakesh Sarin, 1997. "Back to Bentham? Explorations of Experienced Utility," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 375-406.
    20. Easterlin, Richard A. & Angelescu, Laura & Zweig, Jacqueline S., 2011. "The Impact of Modern Economic Growth on Urban–Rural Differences in Subjective Well-Being," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 2187-2198.
    21. Xavier Fontaine & Katsunori Yamada, 2014. "Caste Comparisons in India: Evidence From Subjective Well-Being Data," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-01030774, HAL.
    22. Fontaine, Xavier & Yamada, Katsunori, 2014. "Caste Comparisons in India: Evidence From Subjective Well-Being Data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 407-419.
    23. Ed Diener & Shigehiro Oishi & Louis Tay, 2018. "Advances in subjective well-being research," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 2(4), pages 253-260, April.
    24. S Goudet & A Jayaraman & S Chanani & D Osrin & B Devleesschauwer & B Bogin & N Madise & P Griffiths, 2018. "Cost effectiveness of a community based prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition programme in Mumbai slums, India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, November.
    25. Xavier Fontaine & Katsunori Yamada, 2014. "Caste Comparisons in India: Evidence From Subjective Well-Being Data," SciencePo Working papers Main halshs-01030774, HAL.
    26. Yerema, Coulibaly Thierry & Wakamatsu, Mihoko & Islam, Moinul & Fukai, Hiroki & Managi, Shunsuke & Zhang, Bingqi, 2020. "Differences in Water Policy Efficacy across South African Water Management Areas," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    27. Felix Requena, 2016. "Rural–Urban Living and Level of Economic Development as Factors in Subjective Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(2), pages 693-708, September.
    28. Andrew T. Jebb & Louis Tay & Ed Diener & Shigehiro Oishi, 2018. "Happiness, income satiation and turning points around the world," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 2(1), pages 33-38, January.
    29. Ivan Turok & Jackie Borel-Saladin, 2018. "The theory and reality of urban slums: Pathways-out-of-poverty or cul-de-sacs?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(4), pages 767-789, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Qi & Gong, Jian & Wang, Ying, 2024. "How resilience capacity and multiple shocks affect rural households’ subjective well-being: A comparative study of the Yangtze and Yellow River Basins in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Van Landeghem, Bert & Vandeplas, Anneleen, 2018. "The relationship between status and happiness: Evidence from the caste system in rural India," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 62-71.
    2. Fernandez, Antonia & Della Giusta, Marina & Kambhampati, Uma S., 2015. "The Intrinsic Value of Agency: The Case of Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 92-107.
    3. Paula Carrasco & Rodrigo Ceni & Ivone Perazzo & Gonzalo Salas, 2021. "Are Not Any Silver Linings in the Cloud? Subjective Well-being Among Deprived Young People," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 491-516, February.
    4. Kaiser, Caspar, 2018. "People do not adapt to income changes: A re-evaluation of the dynamic effects of (reference) income on life satisfaction with GSOEP and UKHLS data," INET Oxford Working Papers 2018-07, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    5. Bert Van Landeghem & Anneleen Vandeplas, 2016. "Lower in rank, but happier: the complex relationship between status and happiness," Working Papers of LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance 556194, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance.
    6. Andrew E. Clark & Claudia Senik & Katsunori Yamada, 2022. "The Joneses in Japan: income comparisons and financial satisfaction," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 73(2), pages 351-372, April.
    7. repec:lic:licosd:38516 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Biyase, Mduduzi & Naanwaab , Cephas, 2023. "Rural–Urban Differences in Subjective Well-Being for South Africa: Static and Dynamic Approaches," Journal of Economic Development, The Economic Research Institute, Chung-Ang University, vol. 48(1), pages 1-30, March.
    9. Vani S. Kulkarni & Veena S. Kulkarni & Raghav Gaiha & Katsushi S. Imai, 2023. "Changes in Subjective Well-Being in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 607-644, August.
    10. Fredrik Carlsen & Stefan Leknes, 2022. "For whom are cities good places to live?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2177-2190, December.
    11. Chhavi Tiwari & Srinivas Goli & Mohammad Zahid Siddiqui & Pradeep S. Salve, 2022. "Poverty, wealth inequality and financial inclusion among castes in Hindu and Muslim communities in Uttar Pradesh, India," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(6), pages 1227-1255, August.
    12. Matthys, Marie-Luise & Acharya, Sushant & Khatri, Sanjaya, 2021. "“Before cardamom, we used to face hardship”: Analyzing agricultural commercialization effects in Nepal through a local concept of the Good Life," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    13. Ruut Veenhoven & Felicia Chiperi & Xin Kang & Martijn Burger, 2021. "Happiness and Consumption: A Research Synthesis Using an Online Finding Archive* â€," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440209, March.
    14. Akay, Alpaslan & Bargain, Olivier B. & Giulietti, Corrado & Robalino, Juan D. & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2016. "Remittances and relative concerns in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 191-207.
    15. Lordan, Grace & Stringer, Eliza-Jane, 2022. "People versus machines: The impact of being in an automatable job on Australian worker’s mental health and life satisfaction," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    16. John Knight & Ramani Gunatilaka, 2017. "Is Happiness Infectious?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 64(1), pages 1-24, February.
    17. Krishna, V. & Vikraman, S. & Aravalath, L., 2018. "Caste-based social segregation and access to public extension services in India," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276944, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. VAN DEN BROECK, Goedele & MAERTENS, Miet, 2015. "Does Off-farm Employment Make Women in Rural Senegal Happy?," Working Papers 232593, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    19. Vijesh V Krishna & Lagesh M Aravalath & Surjit Vikraman, 2019. "Does caste determine farmer access to quality information?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-22, January.
    20. Zhongkun Zhu & Wanglin Ma & Chenxin Leng & Peng Nie, 2021. "The Relationship Between Happiness and Consumption Expenditure: Evidence from Rural China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 1587-1611, August.
    21. Muna Shifa & Murray Leibbrandt, 2018. "Relative Economic Position and Subjective Well-Being in a Poor Society: Does Relative Position Indicator Matter?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 611-630, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:122:y:2022:i:c:s0264837722003684. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.