IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v23y2022i4d10.1007_s10902-021-00465-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Urban Risks and Their Influence on Subjective Well-being Around the World

Author

Listed:
  • Hugo Briseño

    (Universidad Panamericana)

  • Guillermo Estefani

    (Universidad Panamericana)

  • Alejandra Núñez-Acosta

    (Universidad Panamericana)

  • Manuel Soto-Pérez

    (Universidad Panamericana)

Abstract

The present research aims to provide evidence that the risks to which individuals are exposed when living in a given city are negatively associated with subjective well-being. The literature is systematically reviewed to highlight factors that affect both positively and negatively subjective well-being. It is noted that there are no studies that address how the risks of living in a city influence the happiness of its inhabitants. Several ordinary least squares models were carried out looking for the best fit that fulfilled the assumptions of normality, correct specification, homoscedasticity and non-multicollinearity. Data from 186 cities around the world were used, although the models incorporated from 120 to 125 due to the availability of information on the variables. These models show that there is a significant negative relationship between urban risks and subjective well-being. Evidence is also generated that social support, income and access to drinking water (public services) have a significant positive influence on subjective well-being. It is concluded that helping citizens mitigate risks in the face of possible threats can improve their self-perception of happiness. It is suggested to have a preventive rather than reactive approach to the possible problems faced by the population.

Suggested Citation

  • Hugo Briseño & Guillermo Estefani & Alejandra Núñez-Acosta & Manuel Soto-Pérez, 2022. "Urban Risks and Their Influence on Subjective Well-being Around the World," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1617-1636, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:23:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10902-021-00465-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-021-00465-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-021-00465-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-021-00465-3?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Miha Dominko & Miroslav Verbič, 2021. "The Effect of Income and Wealth on Subjective Well-Being in the Context of Different Welfare State Regimes," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 181-206, January.
    2. Artjoms Ivlevs & Milena Nikolova & Carol Graham, 2019. "Emigration, remittances, and the subjective well-being of those staying behind," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 113-151, January.
    3. Kalayanee Senasu & Anusorn Singhapakdi, 2018. "Quality-of-Life Determinants of Happiness in Thailand: the Moderating Roles of Mental and Moral Capacities," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(1), pages 59-87, March.
    4. Želinský, Tomáš & Soroková, Tatiana & Petríková, Daniela, 2018. "Economic Characteristics and Subjective Well-Being," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 50(3), pages 334-364.
    5. Nicola Pontarollo & Mercy Orellana & Joselin Segovia, 2020. "The Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in a Developing Country: The Ecuadorian Case," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(8), pages 3007-3035, December.
    6. Binder, Martin & Blankenberg, Ann-Kathrin, 2016. "Environmental concerns, volunteering and subjective well-being: Antecedents and outcomes of environmental activism in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-16.
    7. John Helliwell & Shun Wang, 2014. "Weekends and Subjective Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 389-407, April.
    8. Juan E. Núñez-Ríos & Norman Aguilar-Gallegos & Jacqueline Y. Sánchez-García & Pedro Pablo Cardoso-Castro, 2020. "Systemic Design for Food Self-Sufficiency in Urban Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-25, September.
    9. Perez-Truglia, Ricardo, 2013. "A test of the conspicuous–consumption model using subjective well-being data," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 146-154.
    10. 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.
    11. Isabel Neira & Maricruz Lacalle-Calderon & Marta Portela & Manuel Perez-Trujillo, 2019. "Social Capital Dimensions and Subjective Well-Being: A Quantile Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(8), pages 2551-2579, December.
    12. Dave Webb & Janine Wong, 2014. "Exploring Antecedents of Charitable Giving and Their Impact on Subjective Well-Being in Singapore," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 65-87, May.
    13. Li, Zhengtao & Folmer, Henk & Xue, Jianhong, 2014. "To what extent does air pollution affect happiness? The case of the Jinchuan mining area, China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 88-99.
    14. Thomas Markussen & Maria Fibæk & Finn Tarp & Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, 2018. "The Happy Farmer: Self-Employment and Subjective Well-Being in Rural Vietnam," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(6), pages 1613-1636, August.
    15. Hogan, Michael J. & Leyden, Kevin M. & Conway, Ronan & Goldberg, Abraham & Walsh, Deirdre & McKenna-Plumley, Phoebe E., 2016. "Happiness and health across the lifespan in five major cities: The impact of place and government performance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 168-176.
    16. Stephen A Stansfeld & Martin J Shipley & Jenny Head & Rebecca Fuhrer & Mika Kivimaki, 2013. "Work Characteristics and Personal Social Support as Determinants of Subjective Well-Being," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(11), pages 1-8, November.
    17. 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.
    18. Paweł Chrostek, 2016. "An Empirical Investigation into the Determinants and Persistence of Happiness and Life Evaluation," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 413-430, February.
    19. Minou Weijs-Perrée & Gamze Dane & Pauline van den Berg & Machiel van Dorst, 2019. "A Multi-Level Path Analysis of the Relationships between the Momentary Experience Characteristics, Satisfaction with Urban Public Spaces, and Momentary- and Long-Term Subjective Wellbeing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-19, September.
    20. Jesper Rözer & Gerbert Kraaykamp, 2013. "Income Inequality and Subjective Well-being: A Cross-National Study on the Conditional Effects of Individual and National Characteristics," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 1009-1023, September.
    21. Takis Venetoklis, 2019. "Do interactions cancel associations of subjective well-being with individual-level socioeconomic characteristics? An exploratory analysis using the European Social Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(6), pages 3033-3061, November.
    22. Tom Hendriks & Marijke Schotanus-Dijkstra & Aabidien Hassankhan & Joop Jong & Ernst Bohlmeijer, 2020. "The Efficacy of Multi-component Positive Psychology Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 357-390, January.
    23. Tsui, Hsiao-Chien, 2014. "What affects happiness: Absolute income, relative income or expected income?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 994-1007.
    24. Monica Guillen-Royo & Jackeline Velazco & Laura Camfield, 2013. "Basic Needs and Wealth as Independent Determinants of Happiness: An Illustration from Thailand," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 517-536, January.
    25. Thomas Markussen & Maria Fibæk & Finn Tarp & Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, 2018. "The Happy Farmer: Self-Employment and Subjective Well-Being in Rural Vietnam," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(6), pages 1613-1636, August.
    26. Magnani, Elisabetta & Zhu, Rong, 2018. "Does kindness lead to happiness? Voluntary activities and subjective well-being," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 20-28.
    27. Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn & Rubia R. Valente, 2019. "Livability and Subjective Well-Being Across European Cities," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(1), pages 197-220, March.
    28. M. Joseph Sirgy & Dong-Jin Lee & Seolwoo Park & Mohsen Joshanloo & Minyoung Kim, 2020. "Work–Family Spillover and Subjective Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Coping Strategies," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(8), pages 2909-2929, December.
    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. David G. Blanchflower & Carol L. Graham, 2022. "The Mid-Life Dip in Well-Being: a Critique," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 287-344, May.
    2. Bhuiyan, Muhammad Faress & Ivlevs, Artjoms, 2019. "Micro-entrepreneurship and subjective well-being: Evidence from rural Bangladesh," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 625-645.
    3. Yu-Chuan Chen & Yung-Ho Chiu & Tzu-Han Chang & Tai-Yu Lin, 2023. "Sustainable Development, Government Efficiency, and People’s Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1549-1578, April.
    4. Long Yang & Haiyang Lu & Meng Li, 2023. "Multidimensional Inequality and Subjective Well-Being in China: A Generalized Ordered Logit Model Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(3), pages 1021-1052, February.
    5. Sałach-Dróżdż Katarzyna, 2024. "Wealth inequality, income inequality, and subjective well-being: A cross-country study," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 60(3), pages 227-242.
    6. Shuai Zhang & Binbin Liu & Dajian Zhu & Mingwang Cheng, 2018. "Explaining Individual Subjective Well-Being of Urban China Based on the Four-Capital Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, September.
    7. Haitao Du & Bo Zhang, 2025. "Revisiting the Energy-Happiness Paradox in China: The Role of Housing Outcomes," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 1-28, February.
    8. La, Binh Thanh & Lim, Steven & Cameron, Michael P. & Tran, Tuyen Quang & Nguyen, Minh Thi, 2021. "Absolute income, comparison income and subjective well-being in a transitional country: Panel evidence from Vietnamese household surveys," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 368-385.
    9. Ke Chen & Boyang Cao & Xinning Pan & Yang Wang & Dan He, 2025. "Study on the Influence of the Ecological Environment on the Subjective Well-Being of Farmers Around Nature Reserves: Mediating Effects Based on Environmental Cognition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-21, February.
    10. Heiko Rüger & Stefanie Hoherz & Norbert F. Schneider & Herbert Fliege & Maria M. Bellinger & Brenton M. Wiernik, 2023. "The Effects of Urban Living Conditions on Subjective Well-Being: The Case of German Foreign Service Employees," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(4), pages 1939-1963, August.
    11. Aparicio, Sebastian & Audretsch, David & Noguera, Maria & Urbano, David, 2022. "Can female entrepreneurs boost social mobility in developing countries? An institutional analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    12. Binhui Wei & Chunkai Zhao & Mingzhong Luo, 2025. "Returning Entrepreneurship and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Migrant Worker Households in Rural China," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1-45, March.
    13. Finn Tarp, 2018. "Vietnam: The dragon that rose from the ashes," WIDER Working Paper Series 126, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Tao Xia & Elias G. Carayannis & Stavros Sindakis & Saloome Showkat & Nikos Kanellos, 2024. "Technology transfer for sustainable rural development: evidence from homestead withdrawal with compensation in Chengdu–Chongqing," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 303-333, February.
    15. Erda Wang & Nannan Kang, 2019. "Does life satisfaction matter for pro-environmental behavior? Empirical evidence from China General Social Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 449-469, January.
    16. Laurence Cannings & Craig Hutton & Kristine Nilsen & Alessandro Sorichetta, 2025. "“Where and Whom You Collect Weightings from Matters…” Capturing Wellbeing Priorities Within a Vulnerable Context: A Case Study of Volta Delta, Ghana," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 863-908, March.
    17. Berchoux, Tristan & Hutton, Craig W. & Hensengerth, Oliver & Voepel, Hal E. & Tri, Van P.D. & Vu, Pham T. & Hung, Nghia N. & Parsons, Dan & Darby, Stephen E., 2023. "Effect of planning policies on land use dynamics and livelihood opportunities under global environmental change: Evidence from the Mekong Delta," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    18. Mike Pennock, 2016. "Slower Economic Growth and Subjective Well-Being in the Canadian Context: A Discussion Paper," CSLS Research Reports 2016-09, Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
    19. Danilo Gambelli & Francesco Solfanelli & Stefano Orsini & Raffaele Zanoli, 2021. "Measuring the Economic Performance of Small Ruminant Farms Using Balanced Scorecard and Importance-Performance Analysis: A European Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-13, March.
    20. Mojca Svetek & Mateja Drnovsek, 2022. "Exploring the Effects of Types of Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity on Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 149-170, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:spr:jhappi:v:23:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10902-021-00465-3. 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.