Regional Factors Affecting the Satisfaction of Residents: Evidence from a Structural Equation Model in Japan

To sustain rural areas in Japan, policymakers pay attention to improvement of residents’ satisfaction. The present study empirically shows the causative factors for the personal and regional level of residents’ satisfaction in their daily lives. The ordered probit model was employed to explain personal factors and to quantify regional differences in the average satisfaction level. Regional differences were then regressed with the regional factors by using a structural equation model. Estimations demonstrated the following results. First, different from previous studies (Tsutsui, 2010 ), significant differences in regional satisfaction level were measured. Second, these regional differences were influenced by the economic revitalization, represented by job opportunities and average gross regional production; social capital, shown by the level of trust, altruistic norms and human networks; public facilities for basic human needs; and the town’s reputation perceived by the person outside. Social capital and reputation from outside had the strong impact on the regional satisfaction level. Third, social capital was low at a town where economic revitalization level was high, showing a tradeoff effect, whereas the construction of public facilities advanced in the town where the revitalization level was high. These tradeoff and supplemental effects can be explained by urbanization as substantial variable. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015