Comparing age-happiness relationships between Japan and Europe

Numerous studies have examined the existence of the “well-being paradox,” according to which subjective well-being is stable or even improves in later life despite worsening health and social losses. However, no consensus has been reached regarding the factors that account for this paradox. We used repeated cross-sectional survey data from Japan and three European countries (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) over two decades to compare happiness trajectories over age and factors affecting happiness across the four countries. When we used unadjusted data, we observed U-shaped age-happiness curves in Japan and S-shaped curves in Europe. When we controlled for four intervening variables (marital status, income, job status, and health), we saw that age-related challenges in those areas generally inhibited what would otherwise be a more substantial rise in happiness in later life for the three European countries. Each intervening variable’s role differed substantially across countries and sexes. Notably, a change in job status from working to retirement decreased happiness more substantially in Europe than in Japan, and this is not the case for Japanese females.