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The influence of the natural environment and climate on life satisfaction in Australia

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  • Christopher L Ambrey
  • Christopher M Fleming

Abstract

The narrative of the twentieth century is dominated by three key trends: population growth, economic growth and urbanisation. Moreover, these trends are expected to continue well into the twenty-first century. Australia has not been immune to these trends. Australia’s population is projected to increase by 65% to over 35 million by 2049, and be accompanied by an average growth in per-capita Gross Domestic Product of 1.5% per annum. Much of this population and economic growth will be concentrated in an already highly urbanised environment. As a consequence, the natural environment in which the majority of Australians live is likely to undergo rapid change. It is useful therefore, to better understand our relationship with this environment. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, the Census of Population and Housing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this paper examines the link between the natural environment and life satisfaction in Australia. The results indicate that certain natural environmental assets, such as national parks and the coastline are amenities, whereas creeks are disamenities. In regards to the influence of climate on life satisfaction, some unexpected results are found.
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  • Christopher L Ambrey & Christopher M Fleming, 2011. "The influence of the natural environment and climate on life satisfaction in Australia," Discussion Papers in Economics economics:201101, Griffith University, Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:gri:epaper:economics:201101
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ambrey, Christopher L. & Fleming, Christopher M., 2011. "Valuing scenic amenity using life satisfaction data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 106-115.
    3. Laureti, Lucio & Costantiello, Alberto & Leogrande, Angelo, 2022. "Satisfaction with the Environmental Condition in the Italian Regions between 2004 and 2020," MPRA Paper 112460, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    5. Christian WEISMAYER & Ivo PONOCNY & Sabine SEDLACEK & Bernadette STROSS & Stefan DRESSLER, 2017. "The Relationship Between Natural Urban Surroundings And Residents’ Well-Being," Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(1), pages 21-37, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Natural environment; climate; geographic information systems; life satisfaction; happeness; household income and labour dynamics in Australia; HILDA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

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