IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ess/wpaper/id11131.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

New Evidence on Trust and Well-Being

Author

Listed:
  • John Helliwell
  • Haifang Huang
  • Shun Wang

Abstract

This paper reports existing and fresh evidence on some of the direct and indirect linkages between trust and subjective well-being. This paper first uses data from three large international surveys – the Gallup World Poll, the World Values Survey and the European Social Survey – to estimate income-equivalent values for social trust, with a likely lower bound equivalent to a doubling of household income. [Working Paper 22450]

Suggested Citation

  • John Helliwell & Haifang Huang & Shun Wang, 2016. "New Evidence on Trust and Well-Being," Working Papers id:11131, eSocialSciences.
    • Handle: RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:11131
    Note: Institutional Papers
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.esocialsciences.org/Articles/show_Article.aspx?acat=InstitutionalPapers&aid=11131
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David A. Fleming & Alberto Chong & Hern�n D. Bejarano, 2014. "Trust and Reciprocity in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(11), pages 1482-1493, November.
    2. Yukiko Uchida & Yoshiaki Takahashi & Kentaro Kawahara, 2014. "Changes in Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being After a Severe Nationwide Disaster: The Case of the Great East Japan Earthquake," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 207-221, February.
    3. Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsutsui & Chisako Yamane & Shoko Yamane & Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2015. "Trust and Happiness: Comparative Study Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 919-935, September.
    4. Luca Crivelli & Sara Della Bella & Mario Lucchini, 2016. "Happiness and health," Chapters, in: Luigino Bruni & Pier Luigi Porta (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Happiness and Quality of Life, chapter 17, pages 372-399, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. John F. Helliwell, 2006. "Well-Being, Social Capital and Public Policy: What's New?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(510), pages 34-45, March.
    6. John F. Helliwell & Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh & Anthony Harris & Haifang Huang, 2009. "International Evidence on the Social Context of Well-Being," NBER Working Papers 14720, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Lau, Maggie & Li, Wanxin, 2011. "The extent of family and school social capital promoting positive subjective well-being among primary school children in Shenzhen, China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1573-1582, September.
    8. Christian Bjørnskov, 2007. "Determinants of generalized trust: A cross-country comparison," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 1-21, January.
    9. Helliwell, John F., 2003. "How's life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 331-360, March.
    10. Nyla Branscombe & Angela Daley & Shelley Phipps, 2016. "Perceived Discrimination, Belonging and the Life Satisfaction of Canadian Adolescents with Disabilities," Working Papers daleconwp2016-04, Dalhousie University, Department of Economics.
    11. Hideki Toya & Mark Skidmore, 2014. "Do Natural Disasters Enhance Societal Trust?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 255-279, May.
    12. Marco Castillo & Michael Carter, 2011. "Behavioral Responses to Natural Disasters," Working Papers 1026, George Mason University, Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science.
    13. Matthew G. Nagler, 2013. "Does Social Capital Promote Safety On The Roads?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 1218-1231, April.
    14. Leonard Goff & John F. Helliwell & Guy Mayraz, 2018. "Inequality Of Subjective Well‐Being As A Comprehensive Measure Of Inequality," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(4), pages 2177-2194, October.
    15. John F. Helliwell & Aneta Bonikowska & Hugh Shiplett, 2016. "Migration as a Test of the Happiness Set Point Hypothesis: Evidence from Immigration to Canada," NBER Working Papers 22601, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Yip, Winnie & Subramanian, S.V. & Mitchell, Andrew D. & Lee, Dominic T.S. & Wang, Jian & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2007. "Does social capital enhance health and well-being? Evidence from rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 35-49, January.
    17. Matthew G Nagler & Nicholas J Ward, 2016. "Lonely Highways: The Role of Social Capital in Rural Traffic Safety," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 135-156, January.
    18. John Helliwell, 2007. "Well-Being and Social Capital: Does Suicide Pose a Puzzle?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 455-496, May.
    19. Matthew E. Kahn, 2005. "The Death Toll from Natural Disasters: The Role of Income, Geography, and Institutions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 271-284, May.
    20. Mario Lucchini & Sara Della Bella & Luca Crivelli, 2015. "Social capital and life satisfaction in Switzerland," International Journal of Happiness and Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(3), pages 250-268.
    21. John Helliwell & Haifang Huang & Shun Wang, 2014. "Social Capital and Well-Being in Times of Crisis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 145-162, February.
    22. Bjornskov, Christian, 2006. "The multiple facets of social capital," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 22-40, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. New Evidence on Trust and Well-being
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2016-09-06 01:21:12

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Savinee Suriyanrattakorn & Chia-Lin Chang, 2021. "Valuation of Trust in Government: The Wellbeing Valuation Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Kirk Hamilton & John F. Helliwell & Michael Woolcock, 2016. "Social Capital, Trust and Well-being in the Evaluation of Wealth," NBER Working Papers 22556, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Conzo, Pierluigi & Aassve, Arnstein & Fuochi, Giulia & Mencarini, Letizia, 2017. "The cultural foundations of happiness," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 268-283.
    4. Jesse Bricker & Geng Li, 2017. "Credit Scores, Social Capital, and Stock Market Participation," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-008, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    5. Hugo Mell & Lou Safra & Perrine Demange & Yann Algan & Nicolas Baumard & Coralie Chevallier, 2020. "Early life adversity is associated with diminished social trust in adults," Working Papers hal-03393061, HAL.
    6. Bomi Choi & Hey Jung Jun, 2022. "The Buffering Effects of Social Capital on Inequalities in Subjective Well-Being Among Older People," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 565-583, April.
    7. Stefano Bartolini & Francesco Sarracino, 2021. "Happier and Sustainable. Possibilities for a post-growth society," Department of Economics University of Siena 855, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    8. Hugo Mell & Lou Safra & Perrine Demange & Yann Algan & Nicolas Baumard & Coralie Chevallier, 2020. "Early life adversity is associated with diminished social trust in adults," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/1n437se8a69, Sciences Po.
    9. Conzo, Pierluigi & Aassve, Arnstein & Fuochi, Giulia & Mencarini, Letizia, 2017. "The cultural foundations of happiness," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 268-283.
    10. Leonardo Becchetti & Luca Corazzini & Vittorio Pelligra, 2018. "We Can Be Heroes. Trust and Resilience in Corrupted Economic Environments," CEIS Research Paper 429, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 11 Apr 2018.
    11. Vanessa Sha Fan & Renuka Mahadevan, 2019. "The Role of Social Capital and Remote Chinese Villagers’ Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 1109-1128, June.
    12. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1n437se8a69spq2hr64i89pc1m is not listed on IDEAS

    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. Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsutsui & Chisako Yamane & Shoko Yamane & Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2015. "Trust and Happiness: Comparative Study Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 919-935, September.
    2. Lane, Tom, 2017. "How does happiness relate to economic behaviour? A review of the literature," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 62-78.
    3. Stephane, Victor, 2021. "Hiding behind the veil of ashes: Social capital in the wake of natural disasters," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    4. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Vinod Mishra, 2017. "Trust, Social Networks and Subjective Wellbeing in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 313-339, May.
    5. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Viola Berlepsch, 2014. "Social Capital and Individual Happiness in Europe," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 357-386, April.
    6. Yao Li & Haoyang Li & Jianqing Ruan, 2021. "Do Long-Term Natural Disasters Influence Social Trust? Empirical Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-11, July.
    7. Iddisah Sulemana, 2015. "An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in Ghana," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1299-1321, October.
    8. John F. Helliwell & Lara B. Aknin & Hugh Shiplett & Haifang Huang & Shun Wang, 2017. "Social Capital and Prosocial Behaviour as Sources of Well-Being," NBER Working Papers 23761, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Hernán Bejarano & Joris Gillet & Ismael Rodriguez‐Lara, 2018. "Do Negative Random Shocks Affect Trust and Trustworthiness?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(2), pages 563-579, October.
    10. Stefano Bartolini & Ennio Bilancini & Maurizio Pugno, 2013. "Did the Decline in Social Connections Depress Americans’ Happiness?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 1033-1059, February.
    11. Vanessa Sha Fan & Renuka Mahadevan, 2019. "The Role of Social Capital and Remote Chinese Villagers’ Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 1109-1128, June.
    12. Samuelson Appau & Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Russell Smyth & Quanda Zhang, 2022. "Social Capital Inequality and Subjective Wellbeing of Older Chinese," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 541-563, April.
    13. KASHIWAGI Yuzuka & TODO Yasuyuki, 2021. "How Do Disasters Change Inter-Group Perceptions? Evidence from the 2018 Sulawesi Earthquake," Discussion papers 21082, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    14. Marta Portela & Isabel Neira & Maria del Salinas-Jiménez, 2013. "Social Capital and Subjective Wellbeing in Europe: A New Approach on Social Capital," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 493-511, November.
    15. Sarracino, Francesco, 2013. "Determinants of subjective well-being in high and low income countries: Do happiness equations differ across countries?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 51-66.
    16. Hans Pitlik & Luděk Kouba, 2014. "Does Social Distrust Always Lead to a Stronger Support for Government Intervention? WWWforEurope Policy Paper No. 8," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 47113, April.
    17. Haiyang Lu & Peishan Tong & Rong Zhu, 2020. "Longitudinal Evidence on Social Trust and Happiness in China: Causal Effects and Mechanisms," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(5), pages 1841-1858, June.
    18. Asadullah, Mohammad Niaz & Chaudhury, Nazmul, 2012. "Subjective well-being and relative poverty in rural Bangladesh," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 940-950.
    19. Johan Graafland, 2023. "On Rule of Law, Civic Virtues, Trust, and Happiness," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(4), pages 1799-1824, August.
    20. John F. Helliwell & Shun Wang, 2010. "Trust and Well-being," NBER Working Papers 15911, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    International surveys; the Gallup World Poll; the World Values Survey; the European Social Survey; income-equivalent values; high-trust environment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ess:wpaper:id:11131. 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: Padma Prakash (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.esocialsciences.org .

    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.