IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v128y2016i2d10.1007_s11205-015-1051-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rural–Urban Living and Level of Economic Development as Factors in Subjective Well-Being

Author

Listed:
  • Felix Requena

    (University of Malaga)

Abstract

This article analyses the combined effect on subjective well-being of rural versus urban environments and a country’s level of economic development. There is a great deal of controversy regarding the subjective well-being of people in different places. Fischer’s works report greater happiness among village inhabitants than among urban residents. However, in ‘Urbanism as a way of life’, Wirth demonstrates the attractiveness of the urban environment in contributing to subjective well-being. Our data set includes 29 countries participating in the 2012 ESS. The results confirm the hypothesis that in wealthier countries, rural living standards are high enough to create a higher level of subjective well-being; while in less developed countries the rural environment cannot compete with urban resources for creating subjective well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:128:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-015-1051-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-1051-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-015-1051-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-015-1051-1?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. Dixit, Avinash K & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1977. "Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(3), pages 297-308, June.
    2. Bruno S. Frey, 2018. "Economics of Happiness," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, number 978-3-319-75807-7, October.
    3. Eduardo Borensztein & Paolo Mauro, 2004. "The case for GDP-indexed bonds [‘World income components: measuring and exploiting risk-sharing opportunities’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 19(38), pages 166-216.
    4. Charles M. Tiebout, 1956. "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(5), pages 416-416.
    5. Ciccone, Antonio & Hall, Robert E, 1996. "Productivity and the Density of Economic Activity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(1), pages 54-70, March.
    6. Teije Koopmans & Johanna Geleijnse & Frans Zitman & Erik Giltay, 2010. "Effects of Happiness on All-Cause Mortality During 15 Years of Follow-Up: The Arnhem Elderly Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 113-124, March.
    7. Easterlin, Richard A, 2001. "Income and Happiness: Towards an Unified Theory," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(473), pages 465-484, July.
    8. Rafael Di Tella & Robert J. MacCulloch & Andrew J. Oswald, 2003. "The Macroeconomics of Happiness," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(4), pages 809-827, November.
    9. Niels Lind, 1992. "Some thoughts on the human development index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 89-101, August.
    10. I. Ivanova & F.J. Arcelus & G. Srinivasan, 1999. "An Assessment of the Measurement Properties of the Human Development Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 157-179, February.
    11. Frey, Bruno S & Stutzer, Alois, 2000. "Happiness, Economy and Institutions," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(466), pages 918-938, October.
    12. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Peter J. Rentfrow, 2013. "The Happiness of Cities," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 613-627, April.
    13. Ruut Veenhoven, 1991. "Is happiness relative?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 1-34, February.
    14. Liisa Martikainen, 2009. "The Many Faces of Life Satisfaction among Finnish Young Adults’," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(6), pages 721-737, December.
    15. Richard Ball & Kateryna Chernova, 2008. "Absolute Income, Relative Income, and Happiness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 88(3), pages 497-529, September.
    16. 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.
    17. Easterlin, Richard A., 1974. "Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence," MPRA Paper 111773, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Bruno S. Frey, 2008. "Happiness: A Revolution in Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262062771, April.
    19. Lisa Bourke & Paula Geldens, 2007. "Subjective Wellbeing and its Meaning for Young People in a Rural Australian Center," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 165-187, May.
    20. Chun-Hung Lin & Suchandra Lahiri & Ching-Po Hsu, 2014. "Happiness and Regional Segmentation: Does Space Matter?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 57-83, February.
    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. František Petrovič & Patrik Maturkanič, 2022. "Urban-Rural Dichotomy of Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    2. Shiwei Lu & Yaping Huang & Xiaoqing Wu & Yichen Ding, 2022. "Evaluation, Recognition and Implications of Urban–Rural Integration Development: A Township-Level Analysis of Hanchuan City in Wuhan Metropolitan Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Donghwan Kim, 2018. "Cross-National Pattern of Happiness: Do Higher Education and Less Urbanization Degrade Happiness?," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(1), pages 21-35, March.
    4. 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.
    5. Bernard Josef, 2018. "Rural Quality of Life – Poverty, Satisfaction and Opportunity Deprivation in Different Types of Rural Territories," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 10(2), pages 191-209, June.
    6. Xinyi Wang & F. Atiyya Shaw & Patricia L. Mokhtarian & Giovanni Circella & Kari E. Watkins, 2023. "Combining disparate surveys across time to study satisfaction with life: the effects of study context, sampling method, and transport attributes," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 513-543, April.
    7. 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).
    8. Mikko Weckroth & Sanna Ala-Mantila & Dimitris Ballas & Thanasis Ziogas & Jonna Ikonen, 2022. "Urbanity, Neighbourhood Characteristics and Perceived Quality of Life (QoL): Analysis of Individual and Contextual Determinants for Perceived QoL in 3300 Postal Code Areas in Finland," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 139-164, November.
    9. Cristina Bernini & Alessandro Tampieri, 2017. "Urbanization and its Effects on the Happiness Domains," DEM Discussion Paper Series 17-10, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    10. Bednarik, Zuzana, 2023. "The impact of health disparities on the subjective well-being in rural communities," NCR-Stat Discussion Papers 339129, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD).
    11. YOO Sunbin & KUMAGAI Junya & Thierry COULIBALY & MANAGI Shunsuke, 2024. "Postmaterialist Values Contribute to and Alleviate Global Well-being Disparities: Evidence from Gallup World Poll data," Discussion papers 24017, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    12. Fachao Liang & Zehua Wang & Sheng-Hau Lin, 2022. "Can Land Policy Promote Farmers’ Subjective Well-Being? A Study on Withdrawal from Rural Homesteads in Jinjiang, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-17, June.
    13. Haijun Bao & Yan Fang & Qunying Ye & Yi Peng, 2018. "Investigating Social Welfare Change in Urban Village Transformation: A Rural Migrant Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 723-743, September.
    14. Cristina Bernini & Silvia Emili & Federica Galli, 2021. "Does urbanization matter in the expenditure‐happiness nexus?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(6), pages 1403-1428, December.
    15. Kreg Lindberg & Christopher Wolsko, 2019. "Assessing Well-Being Factors in a Growing Community: A Multi-Attribute Vignette Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 315-335, July.
    16. Martin Boďa & David Cole & Mária Murray Svidroňová & Jolana Gubalová, 2022. "Prevailing narratives versus reality of a small and medium town decline in a CEE country," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 3113-3145, July.
    17. Manuela Alcañiz & Maria-Carme Riera-Prunera & Aïda Solé-Auró, 2020. "“When I Retire, I’ll Move Out of the City”: Mental Well-being of the Elderly in Rural vs. Urban Settings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-14, April.
    18. Navarro, María & D'Agostino, Antonella & Neri, Laura, 2020. "The effect of urbanization on subjective well-being: Explaining cross-regional differences," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    19. 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.
    20. Manuela Alcañiz & Maria-Carme Riera-Prunera & Aïda Solé-Auró, 2019. "“Do elderly people living in rural areas enjoy better mental well-being? Evidence from Catalonia, Spain”," IREA Working Papers 201913, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jul 2019.

    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. Luis Diaz‐Serrano & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose, 2012. "Decentralization, Subjective Well‐Being, and the Perception of Institutions," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 179-193, May.
    2. Díaz Serrano, Lluís & Rodríguez Pose, Andrés, 2011. "Decentralization, happiness and the perception of institutions," Working Papers 2072/151812, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    3. McBride, Michael, 2010. "Money, happiness, and aspirations: An experimental study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 74(3), pages 262-276, June.
    4. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2004. "Money, Sex and Happiness: An Empirical Study," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 106(3), pages 393-415, October.
    5. Antje Mertens & Miriam Beblo, 2016. "Self-Reported Satisfaction and the Economic Crisis of 2007–2010: Or How People in the UK and Germany Perceive a Severe Cyclical Downturn," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 537-565, January.
    6. Bruno S. Frey & Anthony Gullo, 2021. "Does Sports Make People Happier, or Do Happy People More Sports?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 432-458, May.
    7. Bruno Frey, 2011. "Tullock challenges: happiness, revolutions, and democracy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 269-281, September.
    8. O'Donnell, Gus & Oswald, Andrew J., 2015. "National well-being policy and a weighted approach to human feelings," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 59-70.
    9. Yamamura, Eiji, 2013. "Trial experience, satisfaction and incentive to bring another lawsuit: Does aspiration level influence winners and losers?," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 125-131.
    10. 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.
    11. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2004. "Well-being over time in Britain and the USA," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(7-8), pages 1359-1386, July.
    12. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2013-035 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. V. K. Shrotryia & Shashank Vikram Pratap Singh, 2020. "Measuring Progress Beyond GDP: A Theoretical Perspective," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 6(2), pages 143-165, November.
    14. Jiayuan Li & John Raine, 2014. "The Time Trend of Life Satisfaction in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 409-427, April.
    15. Avom, Desire & Yselle Malah, Flora, 2022. "Social media and happiness nexus in the millennial generation," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8).
    16. Estela Núñez-Barriopedro & Rafael Ravina-Ripoll & Eduardo Ahumada-Tello, 2020. "Happiness perception in Spain, a SEM approach to evidence from the sociological research center," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 761-779, June.
    17. Flèche, Sarah, 2015. "Distaste for centralization: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in Switzerland," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64999, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada & Gowdy, John M., 2007. "Environmental degradation and happiness," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 509-516, January.
    19. Popova, Olga, 2014. "Can religion insure against aggregate shocks to happiness? The case of transition countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 804-818.
    20. Stutzer, Alois & Frey, Bruno S., 2010. "Recent Advances in the Economics of Individual Subjective Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 4850, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Rehdanz, Katrin & Maddison, David, 2005. "Climate and happiness," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 111-125, January.
      • Katrin Rehdanz & David J. Maddison, 2003. "Climate and Happiness," Working Papers FNU-20, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Apr 2003.

    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:spr:soinre:v:128:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-015-1051-1. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.