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An Assessment of Life Satisfaction Responses on Recent Statistics Canada Surveys

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  • Aneta Bonikowska
  • John Helliwell
  • Feng Hou
  • Grant Schellenberg

Abstract

Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey (GSS) and Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) offer a valuable opportunity to examine the stability of life satisfaction responses and their correlates from year to year within a consistent analytical framework. Capitalizing on the strengths of these surveys, this paper addresses two questions. First, how much variability is observed from year to year and across surveys in the distribution of life satisfaction responses and what accounts for it? Second, how much variability is observed in the direction and magnitude of the correlation between life satisfaction and a consistent set of socioeconomic characteristics? The study shows that the mean level of life satisfaction reported varies from year to year in the GSS but remains stable in the CCHS. This pattern in variability is associated with survey content preceding the life satisfaction question. In contrast, the direction and magnitude of the relationships between life satisfaction and common socioeconomic characteristics is generally consistent between the two surveys and over time. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Aneta Bonikowska & John Helliwell & Feng Hou & Grant Schellenberg, 2014. "An Assessment of Life Satisfaction Responses on Recent Statistics Canada Surveys," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 617-643, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:118:y:2014:i:2:p:617-643
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0437-1
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    1. Yingying Su & Carl D’Arcy & Muzi Li & Xiangfei Meng, 2022. "Determinants of Life Satisfaction and Self-Perceived Health in Nationally Representative Population-Based Samples, Canada, 2009 to 2018," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(6), pages 3285-3310, December.
    2. Bhuiyan, Muhammad Faress & Ivlevs, Artjoms, 2019. "Micro-entrepreneurship and subjective well-being: Evidence from rural Bangladesh," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 625-645.
    3. Laura Monteiro & Michael Haan, 2022. "The Life Satisfaction of Immigrants in Canada: Does Time Since Arrival Matter more than Income?," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1397-1420, September.
    4. Matthew Brzozowski & Brenda Spotton Visano, 2020. "“Havin’ Money’s Not Everything, Not Havin’ It Is”: The Importance of Financial Satisfaction for Life Satisfaction in Financially Stressed Households," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 573-591, February.
    5. Thananon Buathong & Anna Dimitrova & Paolo Miguel M. Vicerra & Montakarn Chimmamee, 2021. "Years of Good Life: An illustration of a new well-being indicator using data for Thailand," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 19(1), pages 547-583.
    6. John F. Helliwell & Hugh Shiplett & Aneta Bonikowska, 2020. "Migration as a test of the happiness set‐point hypothesis: Evidence from immigration to Canada and the United Kingdom," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 1618-1641, November.
    7. Anders Hayden & Jeffrey Wilson, 2016. "Is It What You Measure That Really Matters? The Struggle to Move beyond GDP in Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Feng Hou, 2014. "Keep Up with the Joneses or Keep on as Their Neighbours: Life Satisfaction and Income in Canadian Urban Neighbourhoods," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 1085-1107, October.
    9. Ehsan Latif, 2015. "Happiness Adaptation to Income: Evidence from Canada," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(3), pages 1477-1487.

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