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Basic Needs and Wealth as Independent Determinants of Happiness: An Illustration from Thailand

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  • Monica Guillen-Royo
  • Jackeline Velazco
  • Laura Camfield

Abstract

Thailand has been a global economic success story, transforming from one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, to a modern and dynamic nation, and all within the lifetime of the current generation. However, growth has been accompanied by marked increases in economic inequality both at the regional and individual levels. In this context studying how relatively poor people appraise their situation (‘subjective wellbeing’) and how this relates to traditional ‘objective’ measures of wellbeing such as wealth and basic needs is particularly relevant. This paper investigates the relationship between basic needs as defined by the Theory of Human needs (THN, Doyal and Gough 1991 ), material wealth and happiness. Specifically, we intend to answer the following research question: Are wealth and basic needs indicators always interchangeable when analyzing happiness determinants in low income settings? The paper focuses on seven communities in the South and North-east of Thailand with contrasting levels of access to markets and services. It challenges the common assumption that at low economic levels, wealth or income matter for people’s happiness because they increase satisfaction of basic needs, arguing instead that wealth might contribute to happiness for personal or symbolic reasons, which are not related to the use of goods as basic needs satisfiers. Thus, it suggests that indicators of wealth and basic needs should not be used interchangeably when studying happiness determinants in low income settings. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:110:y:2013:i:2:p:517-536
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-011-9941-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Alex C. Michalos & P. Maurine Hatch, 2020. "Good Societies, Financial Inequality and Secrecy, and a Good Life: from Aristotle to Piketty," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1005-1054, September.
    2. Ferdi Botha & Edwin Wouters & Frikkie Booysen, 2018. "Happiness, Socioeconomic Status, and Family Functioning in South African Households: a Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 947-989, December.
    3. Sutirtha Bandyopadhyay, 2020. "Gendered Well-Being: Cross-Sectional Evidence from Poor Urban Households in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 281-308, August.
    4. Vishal Chandr Jaunky & Jamiil Jeetoo & Shreya Rampersad, 2020. "Happiness and Consumption in Mauritius: An Exploratory Study of Socio-Economic Dimensions, Basic Needs, Luxuries and Personality Traits," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(7), pages 2377-2403, October.
    5. Tobia Fattore & Susann Fegter & Christine Hunner-Kreisel, 2019. "Children’s Understandings of Well-Being in Global and Local Contexts: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations for a Multinational Qualitative Study," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(2), pages 385-407, April.
    6. 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.
    7. Jigme Nidup & Simon Feeny & Ashton Silva, 2018. "Improving Well-Being in Bhutan: A Pursuit of Happiness or Poverty Reduction?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 79-100, November.
    8. Thomas Wai-Kee Yuen & Winnie Wan-Ling Chu, 2015. "Happiness in ASEAN member states," International Journal of Happiness and Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(1), pages 69-83.
    9. Katarzyna Sałach-Dróżdż, 2023. "Inequality and happiness: the role of income versus wealth inequality," Working Papers 2023-04, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.

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