Happiness and Physical Activity in Special Populations:Evidence from Korean Survey Data

This paper contributes to the literature on happiness by focusing on the effects of physical activity or sport participation on happiness or life satisfaction in a special population. Using survey data collected by the Korean Sports Association for the Disabled, all respondents were legally disabled. This study presents empirical evidence of positive ¡°non-health effects¡± of physical activity on life satisfaction. Approximately a one-level jump in physical activity in the six-level score provided the same improvement in life satisfaction as one-quarter of the effect of the employment status change from unemployed to employed. Additionally, the empirical finding that the level of disability was insignificant in determining subjective well-being is consistent with a threshold argument. Our empirical results also support there being no adaptation to disability, in contrast to findings in the psychology literature.