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An investigation into the relationship between town size and well-being in Latin America and the role of education

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  • Jantsch, Antje
  • Piper, Alan

Abstract

In this study, we explore the relationship between town size and subjective well-being (SWB) in Latin America. We utilize data from the Latinobarómetro survey from 2005 to 2015, employing multilevel modeling to analyze individual responses to life satisfaction as an indicator of SWB. We refine the town size categories provided in the Latinobarómetro by cross-referencing the geographic information with the United Nations Demographic Yearbook, one of our main contributions, leaving us with more refined town size categories than previous research. Given previous theories, we also explore how education moderates the town size-SWB relationship. Our findings reveal that individuals in towns with populations between 10,000 and 500,000 report lower life satisfaction compared to those in smaller or larger towns. Controlling for national macroeconomic conditions reverses the positive association between SWB and living in a very large city. Furthermore, we find support for the notion that lower-educated individuals are less happy in large cities, while the relationship is inconclusive for highly-educated individuals. This study underscores the importance of refining town size data and suggests avenues for future research to deepen collective understanding of the ‘geography of happiness’ in Latin America.

Suggested Citation

  • Jantsch, Antje & Piper, Alan, 2024. "An investigation into the relationship between town size and well-being in Latin America and the role of education," MPRA Paper 120565, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:120565
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alan Piper, 2015. "Heaven knows I'm miserable now: overeducation and reduced life satisfaction," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 677-692, December.
    2. Alan Piper, 2015. "Europe’s Capital Cities and the Happiness Penalty: An Investigation Using the European Social Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 103-126, August.
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    4. Alan Piper, 2019. "An Investigation into the Reported Closing of the Nicaraguan Gender Gap," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 1391-1413, August.
    5. Welsch, Heinz, 2006. "Environment and happiness: Valuation of air pollution using life satisfaction data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 801-813, July.
    6. Craig A. Talmage & Chad Frederick, 2019. "Quality of Life, Multimodality, and the Demise of the Autocentric Metropolis: A Multivariate Analysis of 148 Mid-Size U.S. Cities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 365-390, January.
    7. M. Pittau & Roberto Zelli & Andrew Gelman, 2010. "Economic Disparities and Life Satisfaction in European Regions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 96(2), pages 339-361, April.
    8. Simon Luechinger, 2009. "Valuing Air Quality Using the Life Satisfaction Approach," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(536), pages 482-515, March.
    9. Carol Graham & Andrew Felton, 2006. "Inequality and happiness: Insights from Latin America," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 4(1), pages 107-122, April.
    10. Yukun Zhao & Feng Yu & Bo Jing & Xiaomeng Hu & Ang Luo & Kaiping Peng, 2019. "An Analysis of Well-Being Determinants at the City Level in China Using Big Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 973-994, June.
    11. Mariano Rojas, 2023. "Is there a religious explanation for high life satisfaction in Latin America?," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(7), pages 1506-1525, July.
    12. Lucía Macchia & Anke C. Plagnol, 2019. "Life Satisfaction and Confidence in National Institutions: Evidence from South America," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(3), pages 721-736, July.
    13. Amina Ahmed Lahsen & Alan T. Piper, 2019. "Property rights and intellectual property protection, GDP growth and individual well-being in Latin America," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-21, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    life satisfaction; subjective well-being; education; town size; Latin America; Latinobarómetro; multilevel modelling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

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