IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/transp/v39y2012i6p1189-1207.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Well-being and activity-based models

Author

Listed:
  • Maya Abou-Zeid
  • Moshe Ben-Akiva

Abstract

We present empirical and theoretical analyses to investigate the relationship between happiness (or subjective well-being) and activity participation and develop a framework for using well-being data to enhance activity-based travel demand models. The overriding hypothesis is that activities are planned and undertaken to satisfy needs so as to maintain or enhance subjective well-being. The empirical analysis consists of the development of a structural equations exploratory model of activity participation and happiness using data from a cross-sectional survey of a sample of commuters. The model reveals significant correlations between happiness and behavior for different types of activities: higher propensity of activity participation is associated with greater activity happiness and greater satisfaction with travel to the activity. The theoretical analysis consists of the development of a modeling framework and measures for the incorporation of well-being within activity-based travel demand models. The motivation is that activity pattern models have been specified in ad-hoc ways in practice as a function of mobility, lifestyle, and accessibility variables. We postulate that well-being is the ultimate goal of activity patterns which are driven by needs and propose two extensions of activity pattern models. The first extension consists of the use of well-being measures as indicators of the utility of activity patterns (in addition to the usual choice indicators) within a random utility modeling framework. The second extension models conceptually the behavioral process of activity generation based on needs satisfaction. We present an example of an operational activity pattern model and propose well-being measures for enhancing it. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Maya Abou-Zeid & Moshe Ben-Akiva, 2012. "Well-being and activity-based models," Transportation, Springer, vol. 39(6), pages 1189-1207, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:39:y:2012:i:6:p:1189-1207
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-012-9387-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11116-012-9387-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11116-012-9387-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abou-Zeid, Maya & Ben-Akiva, Moshe, 2011. "The effect of social comparisons on commute well-being," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 345-361, May.
    2. Cecilia Bergstad & Amelie Gamble & Tommy Gärling & Olle Hagman & Merritt Polk & Dick Ettema & Margareta Friman & Lars Olsson, 2011. "Subjective well-being related to satisfaction with daily travel," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Adler, Thomas & Ben-Akiva, Moshe, 1979. "A theoretical and empirical model of trip chaining behavior," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 243-257, September.
    4. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi & Jeremy Hunter, 2003. "Happiness in Everyday Life: The Uses of Experience Sampling," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 185-199, June.
    5. Alan B. Krueger & Daniel Kahneman & David Schkade & Norbert Schwarz & Arthur A. Stone, 2009. "National Time Accounting: The Currency of Life," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring the Subjective Well-Being of Nations: National Accounts of Time Use and Well-Being, pages 9-86, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Ettema, Dick & Gärling, Tommy & Olsson, Lars E. & Friman, Margareta, 2010. "Out-of-home activities, daily travel, and subjective well-being," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 723-732, November.
    7. Daniel Kahneman & Peter P. Wakker & Rakesh Sarin, 1997. "Back to Bentham? Explorations of Experienced Utility," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 375-406.
    8. Walker, Joan & Ben-Akiva, Moshe, 2002. "Generalized random utility model," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 303-343, July.
    9. Arentze, Theo A. & Timmermans, Harry J.P., 2009. "A need-based model of multi-day, multi-person activity generation," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 251-265, February.
    10. Arentze, Theo A. & Ettema, Dick & Timmermans, Harry J.P., 2011. "Estimating a model of dynamic activity generation based on one-day observations: Method and results," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 447-460, February.
    11. Alan B. Krueger, 2007. "Are We Having More Fun Yet? Categorizing and Evaluating Changes in Time Alloction," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 38(2), pages 193-218.
    12. Bowman, J. L. & Ben-Akiva, M. E., 2001. "Activity-based disaggregate travel demand model system with activity schedules," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 1-28, January.
    13. Spinney, Jamie E.L. & Scott, Darren M. & Newbold, K. Bruce, 2009. "Transport mobility benefits and quality of life: A time-use perspective of elderly Canadians," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, January.
    14. Alan B. Krueger & Daniel Kahneman & David Schkade & Norbert Schwarz & Arthur A. Stone, 2008. "National Time Accounting: The Currency of Life," Working Papers 1061, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    15. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items 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. Dong, Han & Zhang, Jun & Cirillo, Cinzia, 2019. "Exploring, understanding, and modeling the reciprocal relation between leisure and subjective well-being," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 813-824.
    2. Nahmias–Biran, Bat-hen & Shiftan, Yoram, 2016. "Towards a more equitable distribution of resources: Using activity-based models and subjective well-being measures in transport project evaluation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 672-684.
    3. Morris, Eric A. & Blumenberg, Evelyn & Guerra, Erick, 2020. "Does lacking a car put the brakes on activity participation? Private vehicle access and access to opportunities among low-income adults," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 375-397.
    4. Jonas De Vos, 2019. "Analysing the effect of trip satisfaction on satisfaction with the leisure activity at the destination of the trip, in relationship with life satisfaction," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 623-645, June.
    5. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2011. "A hasznosság és a relatív jövedelem kapcsolatának vizsgálata magyar adatok segítségével [Examining the relation of utility and relative income using Hungarian data]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 56-73.
    6. Alan Krueger & Daniel Kahneman & Claude Fischler & David Schkade & Norbert Schwarz & Arthur Stone, 2009. "Time Use and Subjective Well-Being in France and the U.S," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 7-18, August.
    7. Andreas Knabe & Steffen Rätzel & Ronnie Schöb & Joachim Weimann, 2010. "Dissatisfied with Life but Having a Good Day: Time-use and Well-being of the Unemployed," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(547), pages 867-889, September.
    8. Jonas De Vos & Patricia L. Mokhtarian & Tim Schwanen & Veronique Van Acker & Frank Witlox, 2016. "Travel mode choice and travel satisfaction: bridging the gap between decision utility and experienced utility," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(5), pages 771-796, September.
    9. Friman, Margareta & Fujii, Satoshi & Ettema, Dick & Gärling, Tommy & Olsson, Lars E., 2013. "Psychometric analysis of the satisfaction with travel scale," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 132-145.
    10. Pougala, Janody & Hillel, Tim & Bierlaire, Michel, 2022. "Capturing trade-offs between daily scheduling choices," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    11. Maya Abou-Zeid & Satoshi Fujii, 2016. "Travel satisfaction effects of changes in public transport usage," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 301-314, March.
    12. Zhenjun Zhu & Zhigang Li & Hongsheng Chen & Ye Liu & Jun Zeng, 2019. "Subjective well-being in China: how much does commuting matter?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1505-1524, August.
    13. Morris, Eric A., 2015. "Should we all just stay home? Travel, out-of-home activities, and life satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 519-536.
    14. De Vos, Jonas & Witlox, Frank, 2017. "Travel satisfaction revisited. On the pivotal role of travel satisfaction in conceptualising a travel behaviour process," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 364-373.
    15. Yanan Gao & Soora Rasouli & Harry Timmermans & Yuanqing Wang, 2020. "Prevalence of alternative processing rules in the formation of daily travel satisfaction in the context multi-trip, multi-stage, multi-attribute travel experiences," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1199-1221, June.
    16. Frank Goetzke & Tilmann Rave, 2015. "Automobile access, peer effects and happiness," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(5), pages 791-805, September.
    17. Jiri Zuzanek & Tamara Zuzanek, 2015. "Of Happiness and of Despair, Is There a Measure? Time Use and Subjective Well-being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 839-856, August.
    18. Song, Younghwan, 2015. "A Cross-State Comparison of Measures of Subjective Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 9396, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Matthew D Rablen, 2012. "The promotion of local wellbeing: A primer for policymakers," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 27(3), pages 297-314, May.
    20. Majumdar, Bandhan Bandhu & Jayakumar, Malavika & Sahu, Prasanta K. & Potoglou, Dimitris, 2021. "Identification of key determinants of travel satisfaction for developing policy instrument to improve quality of life: An analysis of commuting in Delhi," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 281-292.

    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:kap:transp:v:39:y:2012:i:6:p:1189-1207. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.