IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/oxdevs/v43y2015i3p281-309.html

Global Development and Happiness: How Can Data on Subjective Well-Being Inform Development Theory and Practice?

Author

Listed:
  • Christian Kroll

Abstract

While research on subjective well-being (SWB) has recently attracted much attention in richer nations, its potential in a development context remains underexploited. This paper, therefore, considers conventional development theory through an SWB lens. The Human Development approach with its three key elements of material conditions, health and education is re-assessed by examining to what extent these factors actually matter for people's life satisfaction in different nations. Using data from the World Values Survey for 100 000 people from 70 nations, considerable heterogeneity is identified and a new country ranking in the form of an SWB-adjusted Human Development Index, or 'Happy Development Index', is devised.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Kroll, 2015. "Global Development and Happiness: How Can Data on Subjective Well-Being Inform Development Theory and Practice?," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(3), pages 281-309, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:43:y:2015:i:3:p:281-309
    DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2015.1067293
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13600818.2015.1067293
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/13600818.2015.1067293?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. Sabina Alkire & Maria Emma Santos, 2010. "Acute Multidimensional Poverty: A New Index for Developing Countries," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2010-11, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    2. Sarah Fleche & Conal Smith & Piritta Sorsa, 2011. "Exploring Determinants of Subjective Wellbeing in OECD Countries: Evidence from the World Value Survey," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 921, OECD Publishing.
    3. Helliwell, John & Layard, Richard & Sachs, Jeffrey, 2012. "World happiness report," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 47487, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rémi Yin & Anthony Lepinteur & Andrew E Clark & Conchita d'Ambrosio, 2021. "Life Satisfaction and the Human Development Index Across the World," Working Papers halshs-03174513, HAL.
    2. Salauddin Tauseef & Derek D. Headey & Isabel B. Lambrecht, 2025. "Is Subjective Wellbeing Too Subjective? The (large) Impact of Randomized Placement of Happiness and Worry Questions in a National Survey of Crisis-Affected Myanmar," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 493-522, October.
    3. Christian Kroll & Jan Delhey, 2013. "A Happy Nation? Opportunities and Challenges of Using Subjective Indicators in Policymaking," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(1), pages 13-28, October.
    4. Mansi Jain & Gagan Deep Sharma & Mandeep Mahendru, 2019. "Can I Sustain My Happiness? A Review, Critique and Research Agenda for Economics of Happiness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-36, November.
    5. Delhey, Jan & Steckermeier, Leonie C., 2016. "The Good Life, Affluence, and Self-reported Happiness: Introducing the Good Life Index and Debunking Two Popular Myths," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 50-66.
    6. Shiri Cohen Kaminitz & Nathan Sussman, 2024. "Experimenting with a strong dual necessity approach to social progress," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    7. Matthys, Marie-Luise & Acharya, Sushant & Khatri, Sanjaya, 2021. "“Before cardamom, we used to face hardship”: Analyzing agricultural commercialization effects in Nepal through a local concept of the Good Life," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    8. Junichi Hirose & Koji Kotani, 2021. "How does inquisitiveness matter for generativity and happiness?," Working Papers SDES-2021-3, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised May 2021.
    9. Gregor Gonza & Anže Burger, 2017. "Subjective Well-Being During the 2008 Economic Crisis: Identification of Mediating and Moderating Factors," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1763-1797, December.

    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. Arnaud Joskin, 2017. "Working Paper 04-17 - Qu’est-ce qui compte pour les Belges ? Analyse des déterminants du bien-être individuel en Belgique [Working Paper 04-17 - Wat telt voor de Belgen? Analyse van de determinante," Working Papers 1704, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.
    2. Xuming He & Heng Xi & Xianbo Li, 2024. "Multi-Dimensional Decomposition, Measurement, and Governance Mechanism of Relative Poverty in Chinese Households under the Goal of Common Prosperity: Empirical Analysis Based on CFPS2020 Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-24, June.
    3. Sarah Flèche & Richard Layard, 2017. "Do More of Those in Misery Suffer from Poverty, Unemployment or Mental Illness?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 27-41, February.
    4. Melissa SIEGEL & Jennifer WAIDLER, 2012. "Migration and multi-dimensional poverty in Moldovan communities," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 3, pages 105-119, December.
    5. Rui Manuel de Sousa Fragoso & Carlos Alberto Falcão Marques, 2012. "Integrated Water Management Using Feasible Goals Method and Interactive Decision Maps: The Case of Odivelas Irrigation," CEFAGE-UE Working Papers 2012_07, University of Evora, CEFAGE-UE (Portugal).
    6. Abre-Rehmat Qurat-ul-Ann & Faisal Mehmood Mirza, 2021. "Multidimensional Energy Poverty in Pakistan: Empirical Evidence from Household Level Micro Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 211-258, May.
    7. Alkire, Sabina & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Peterman, Amber & Quisumbing, Agnes & Seymour, Greg & Vaz, Ana, 2013. "The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-91.
    8. Magnan, Nicholas & Spielman, David J. & Lybbert, Travis J. & Gulati, Kajal, 2015. "Leveling with friends: Social networks and Indian farmers' demand for a technology with heterogeneous benefits," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 223-251.
    9. Sugata Bag & Suman Seth, 2016. "Understanding Standard of Living and Correlates in Slums - An Analysis Using Monetary Versus Multidimensional Approaches in Three Indian Cities," Working papers 263, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    10. repec:qeh:ophiwp:ophiwp038 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Alkire, Sabina & Santos, Maria Emma, 2014. "Measuring Acute Poverty in the Developing World: Robustness and Scope of the Multidimensional Poverty Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 251-274.
    12. Chris De Neubourg & Jingqing Chai & Marlous de Milliano & Ilze Plavgo, 2013. "Step-by-Step Guidelines to the Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA)," Papers inwopa695, Innocenti Working Papers.
    13. Md. Hashibul Hassan & Lubna Jebin, 2018. "Comparative Capability of Migrant and Non-Migrant Households: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 8(5), pages 618-640, May.
    14. Jeni Klugman & Francisco Rodríguez & Hyung-Jin Choi, 2011. "The HDI 2010: new controversies, old critiques," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 9(2), pages 249-288, June.
    15. Junaid Khan & Sanjay K Mohanty, 2024. "Poverty induced inequality in nutrition among children born during 2010–2021 in India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(11), pages 1-29, November.
    16. Sabina Alkire & James Foster, 2011. "Understandings and misunderstandings of multidimensional poverty measurement," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 9(2), pages 289-314, June.
    17. Cubi-Molla, P. & De Vries, J. & Devlin, N., 2013. "A Study of the Relationship Between Health and Subjective Well-being in Parkinson’s Disease Patients," Working Papers 13/12, Department of Economics, City St George's, University of London.
    18. Ahmed Eid & Javier Aliaga Lordemann, 2013. "“Vivir Bien” y pobreza multidimensional. ¿Es posible una conciliación conceptual?," Revista Latinoamericana de Desarrollo Economico, Carrera de Economía de la Universidad Católica Boliviana (UCB), issue 20, pages 231-258.
    19. Andrés Mauricio Vargas Pérez, 2013. "Bienestar subjetivo y políticas públicas de los gobiernos locales," Revista de Economía del Caribe, Universidad del Norte, vol. 0(0), pages 1-24.
    20. Muriithi, Beatrice W. & Matz, Julia Anna, 2015. "Welfare effects of vegetable commercialization: Evidence from smallholder producers in Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 80-91.
    21. Maria Santos, 2013. "Tracking Poverty Reduction in Bhutan: Income Deprivation Alongside Deprivation in Other Sources of Happiness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 259-290, June.

    More about this item

    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:taf:oxdevs:v:43:y:2015:i:3:p:281-309. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CODS20 .

    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.