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The Happiness Gap in Eastern Europe

Author

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  • Zilinsky, Jan

    (Peterson Institute)

  • Nikolova, Elena
  • Djankov, Simeon

Abstract

Citizens in Eastern Europe are less satisfied with life than their peers in other countries. This happiness gap has persisted over time, despite predictions to the contrary by earlier scholars. It holds after controlling for a variety of covariates, such as the standard of living, life expectancy and Eastern Orthodox religion. Armed with a battery of surveys from the early 1990s to 2014, we argue that the happiness gap is explained by how citizens in post-communist countries perceive their governments. Eastern Europeans link their life satisfaction to higher perceived corruption and weaker government performance. Our results suggest that the transition from central planning is still incomplete, at least in the psychology of people.

Suggested Citation

  • Zilinsky, Jan & Nikolova, Elena & Djankov, Simeon, 2016. "The Happiness Gap in Eastern Europe," SocArXiv et7vz_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:et7vz_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/et7vz_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Grosfeld, Irena & Senik, Claudia, 2010. "The emerging aversion to inequality - Evidence from subjective data," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1006, CEPREMAP.
    2. Anders Aslund & Simeon Djankov (ed.), 2014. "The Great Rebirth: Lessons from the Victory of Capitalism over Communism," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 6970, April.
    3. Graham, Carol & Nikolova, Milena, 2013. "Does access to information technology make people happier? Insights from well-being surveys from around the world," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 126-139.
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