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Money, Trust and Happiness in Transition Countries: Evidence from Time Series

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  • BARTOLINI Stefano
  • MIKUCKA Malgorzata
  • SARRACINO Francesco

Abstract

The evolution over time of subjective well-being (SWB) in transition countries exhibit some peculiarities: greater variations which are more strongly correlated with the trends of GDP relative to other countries. What is the possible role of social trust in predicting such variations? We compare the capacity of the trends of GDP and of social trust to predict the trends of SWB. We find that the strength of the relationship between social trust and SWB over the medium-term is comparable to that of GDP. Our conclusion is that in the medium-term, even in countries considered as an extreme case of relevance of material concerns for well-being, social trust is a powerful predictor of the evolution over time of SWB. However, in the short run the relationship between social trust and SWB does not hold and GDP stands out as the only significant correlate of SWB.

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  • BARTOLINI Stefano & MIKUCKA Malgorzata & SARRACINO Francesco, 2012. "Money, Trust and Happiness in Transition Countries: Evidence from Time Series," LISER Working Paper Series 2012-04, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    • Handle: RePEc:irs:cepswp:2012-04
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    2. Nikolova, Milena & Roman, Monica & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2017. "Left behind but doing good? Civic engagement in two post-socialist countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 658-684.
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    5. Ekaterina Skoglund, 2017. "The happiness gap between transition and non-transition countries," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 357-357, May.
    6. Yok-Yong Lee & Kim-Leng Goh, 2023. "The Happiness-Economic Well-Being Nexus: New Insights From Global Panel Data," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
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    11. Lewczuk Anna, 2018. "Empowerment Rights and Happiness Gap in Post-socialist Countries," Central European Economic Journal, Sciendo, vol. 5(52), pages 270-295, January.
    12. Romeo Catalin CRETU & Ovidiu BUZOIANU & Laurentiu Eduard ION & Emil GRATIANU, 2024. "The Standard Of Living In The Countries Of The European Union," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 18(1), pages 540-547, November.
    13. Jiří Večerník, 2012. "Subjektivní indikátory blahobytu: přístupy, měření a data [Subjective Indicators of Well-Being: Approaches, Measurements and Data]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2012(3), pages 291-308.
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    20. Mikucka, Malgorzata & Sarracino, Francesco & Dubrow, Joshua K., 2017. "When Does Economic Growth Improve Life Satisfaction? Multilevel Analysis of the Roles of Social Trust and Income Inequality in 46 Countries, 1981–2012," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 447-459.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Easterlin paradox; GDP; economic growth; subjective well-being; happiness; life satisfaction; social capital; time-series; short run; transition countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • P27 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Performance and Prospects
    • P50 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - General

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