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Why Are Cabinet Supporters Happy?

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  • Yoshiro Tsutsui
  • Shoko Yamane
  • Fumio Ohtake

Abstract

Using a monthly survey, this paper finds that supporters of the governing cabinet are significantly happier than non-supporters throughout our sample period. We investigate the reason and examine two hypotheses: 1) happy persons support the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and 2) supporters of any governing party tend to be happy. Oaxaca decomposition analysis reveals that the difference in happiness is not attributable to the difference of attributes and personalities, rejecting hypothesis 1). On the other hand, the happiness of cabinet and anti-cabinet supporters was not significantly different after an election in which the governing party was replaced, supporting hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Yoshiro Tsutsui & Shoko Yamane & Fumio Ohtake, 2015. "Why Are Cabinet Supporters Happy?," ISER Discussion Paper 0923, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    • Handle: RePEc:dpr:wpaper:0923
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    File URL: https://www.iser.osaka-u.ac.jp/library/dp/2015/DP0923.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    2. Andrew E. Clark, 2019. "Born to Be Mild? Cohort Effects Don’t (Fully) Explain Why Well-Being Is U-Shaped in Age," Springer Books, in: Mariano Rojas (ed.), The Economics of Happiness, chapter 0, pages 387-408, Springer.
    3. Tsutsui, Yoshiro & Kimball, Miles & Ohtake, Fumio, 2010. "Koizumi carried the day: Did the Japanese election results make people happy and unhappy?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 12-24, March.
    4. Derek Bok, 2010. "The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9107.
    5. Ottar Hellevik, 2003. "Economy, Values and Happiness in Norway," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 243-283, September.
    6. Easterlin, Richard A, 2001. "Income and Happiness: Towards an Unified Theory," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(473), pages 465-484, July.
    7. Kinari, Yusuke & Ohtake, Fumio & Kimball, Miles & Morimoto, Shoko & Tsutsui, Yoshiro, 2019. "Happiness before and after an election: An analysis based on a daily survey around Japan’s 2009 election," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 187-194.
    8. Oaxaca, Ronald L. & Ransom, Michael R., 1994. "On discrimination and the decomposition of wage differentials," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 5-21, March.
    9. Cotton, Jeremiah, 1988. "On the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(2), pages 236-243, May.
    10. Bruno S. Frey, 2008. "Happiness: A Revolution in Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262062771, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsutsui & Fumio Ohtake, 2016. "Relative Income Position and Happiness: Are Cabinet Supporters Different from Others in Japan?," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 383-402, December.

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