IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/okl/wpaper/1508.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Urbanization, Natural Amenities, and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from U.S. Counties

Author

Listed:
  • John V. Winters

    (Oklahoma State University)

  • Yu Li

    (Oklahoma State University)

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of county-level urbanization and natural amenities on subjective well-being (SWB) in the U.S. SWB is measured using individual-level data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) which asks respondents to rate their overall life satisfaction. Using individual-level SWB data allows us to control for several important individual characteristics. The results suggest that urbanization lowers SWB, with relatively large negative effects for residents in dense counties and large metropolitan areas. Natural amenities also affect SWB, with warmer winters having a significant positive effect on selfreported life-satisfaction. Implications for researchers and policymakers are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • John V. Winters & Yu Li, 2015. "Urbanization, Natural Amenities, and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from U.S. Counties," Economics Working Paper Series 1508, Oklahoma State University, Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:okl:wpaper:1508
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://business.okstate.edu/site-files/docs/ecls-working-papers/OKSWPS1508.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jan K. Brueckner & David Neumark, 2014. "Beaches, Sunshine, and Public Sector Pay: Theory and Evidence on Amenities and Rent Extraction by Government Workers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 198-230, May.
    2. Christopher Ambrey & Christopher Fleming, 2014. "Public Greenspace and Life Satisfaction in Urban Australia," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(6), pages 1290-1321, May.
    3. Rappaport, Jordan, 2008. "A productivity model of city crowdedness," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 715-722, March.
    4. Maddison, David & Rehdanz, Katrin, 2011. "The impact of climate on life satisfaction," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2437-2445.
    5. Victoria Cramer & Svenn Torgersen & Einar Kringlen, 2004. "Quality of Life in a City: The Effect of Population Density," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 69(1), pages 103-116, October.
    6. Alois Stutzer & Bruno S. Frey, 2008. "Stress that Doesn't Pay: The Commuting Paradox," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(2), pages 339-366, June.
    7. Glaeser, Edward L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2004. "Sprawl and urban growth," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 56, pages 2481-2527, Elsevier.
    8. Roback, Jennifer, 1982. "Wages, Rents, and the Quality of Life," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(6), pages 1257-1278, December.
    9. Rainald Borck, 2007. "Consumption and Social Life in Cities: Evidence from Germany," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(11), pages 2105-2121, October.
    10. Clark, Andrew E & Oswald, Andrew J, 1994. "Unhappiness and Unemployment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(424), pages 648-659, May.
    11. Winters, John V., 2009. "Wages and prices: Are workers fully compensated for cost of living differences?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 632-643, September.
    12. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Peter J. Rentfrow, 2013. "The Happiness of Cities," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 613-627, April.
    13. Nicole Lawless & Richard Lucas, 2011. "Predictors of Regional Well-Being: A County Level Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 341-357, May.
    14. George MacKerron, 2012. "Happiness Economics From 35 000 Feet," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 705-735, September.
    15. John F. Helliwell, 2006. "Well-Being, Social Capital and Public Policy: What's New?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(510), pages 34-45, March.
    16. Dan S. Rickman, 2014. "Assessing Regional Quality of Life: A Call for Action in Regional Science," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 44(1), pages 1-12, Spring.
    17. Rehdanz, Katrin & Maddison, David, 2005. "Climate and happiness," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 111-125, January.
      • Katrin Rehdanz & David J. Maddison, 2003. "Climate and Happiness," Working Papers FNU-20, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Apr 2003.
    18. Andrew J. Oswald & Stephen Wu, 2011. "Well-Being across America," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1118-1134, November.
    19. McGranahan, David A., 1999. "Natural Amenities Drive Rural Population Change," Agricultural Economic Reports 33955, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    20. Moro, Mirko & Brereton, Finbarr & Ferreira, Susana & Clinch, J. Peter, 2008. "Ranking quality of life using subjective well-being data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 448-460, April.
    21. Mark D. Partridge & Dan S. Rickman & M. Rose Olfert & Ying Tan, 2015. "When Spatial Equilibrium Fails: Is Place-Based Policy Second Best?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(8), pages 1303-1325, August.
    22. Russell Smyth & Ingrid Nielsen & Qingguo Zhai & Tiemin Liu & Yin Liu & C.Y. Tang & Zhihong Wang & Zuxiang Wang & Juyong Zhang, 2008. "Environmental Surroundings And Personal Well-Being In Urban China," Monash Economics Working Papers 32/08, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    23. Douglas J. Krupka, 2009. "Location‐Specific Human Capital, Location Choice And Amenity Demand," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 833-854, December.
    24. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Tobias D. Ketterer, 2012. "Do Local Amenities Affect The Appeal Of Regions In Europe For Migrants?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 535-561, October.
    25. Winters, John V., 2011. "Human capital, higher education institutions, and quality of life," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 446-454, September.
    26. Gardner, Jonathan & Oswald, Andrew J., 2007. "Money and mental wellbeing: A longitudinal study of medium-sized lottery wins," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 49-60, January.
    27. Easterlin, Richard A. & Angelescu, Laura & Zweig, Jacqueline S., 2011. "The Impact of Modern Economic Growth on Urban–Rural Differences in Subjective Well-Being," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 2187-2198.
    28. David Albouy, 2008. "Are Big Cities Bad Places to Live? Estimating Quality of Life across Metropolitan Areas," NBER Working Papers 14472, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    29. Proto, Eugenio & Rustichini, Aldo, 2015. "Life satisfaction, income and personality," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 17-32.
    30. Douglas J. Krupka & Kwame N. Donaldson, 2013. "Wages, Rents, And Heterogeneous Moving Costs," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 844-864, January.
    31. Brereton, Finbarr & Clinch, J. Peter & Ferreira, Susana, 2008. "Happiness, geography and the environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 386-396, April.
    32. Lasse Steiner & Bruno Frey & Simone Hotz, 2015. "European Capitals of Culture and life satisfaction," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(2), pages 374-394, February.
    33. Partridge, Mark D. & Rickman, Dan S. & Olfert, M. Rose & Ali, Kamar, 2012. "Dwindling U.S. internal migration: Evidence of spatial equilibrium or structural shifts in local labor markets?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 375-388.
    34. Juncal Cuñado & Fernando Gracia, 2013. "Environment and Happiness: New Evidence for Spain," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 549-567, July.
    35. Liliana Winkelmann & Rainer Winkelmann, 1998. "Why Are the Unemployed So Unhappy?Evidence from Panel Data," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 65(257), pages 1-15, February.
    36. Marie Connolly, 2013. "Some Like It Mild and Not Too Wet: The Influence of Weather on Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 457-473, April.
    37. Sander, William, 2011. "Location and happiness in the United States," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 112(3), pages 277-279, September.
    38. John Winters, 2013. "Differences in quality of life estimates using rents and home values," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(2), pages 377-409, October.
    39. Dan S. Rickman & Shane D. Rickman, 2011. "Population Growth In High‐Amenity Nonmetropolitan Areas: What'S The Prognosis?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(5), pages 863-879, December.
    40. Rappaport, Jordan, 2007. "Moving to nice weather," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 375-398, May.
    41. Diego Puga, 2010. "The Magnitude And Causes Of Agglomeration Economies," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 203-219, February.
    42. Easterlin, Richard A, 2001. "Income and Happiness: Towards an Unified Theory," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(473), pages 465-484, July.
    43. Abdallah, Saamah & Thompson, Sam & Marks, Nic, 2008. "Estimating worldwide life satisfaction," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 35-47, March.
    44. Ed Diener & Robert Biswas-Diener, 2002. "Will Money Increase Subjective Well-Being?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 119-169, February.
    45. Mark D. Partridge, 2010. "The duelling models: NEG vs amenity migration in explaining US engines of growth," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(3), pages 513-536, August.
    46. John F. Helliwell & Haifang Huang, 2014. "New Measures Of The Costs Of Unemployment: Evidence From The Subjective Well-Being Of 3.3 Million Americans," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(4), pages 1485-1502, October.
    47. Vemuri, Amanda W. & Costanza, Robert, 2006. "The role of human, social, built, and natural capital in explaining life satisfaction at the country level: Toward a National Well-Being Index (NWI)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 119-133, June.
    48. Steven Berry & Joel Waldfogel, 2010. "Product Quality And Market Size," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 1-31, March.
    49. Dan S. Rickman & Hongbo Wang, 2017. "US regional population growth 2000–2010: Natural amenities or urban agglomeration?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96, pages 69-90, March.
    50. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    51. Smyth, Russell & Mishra, Vinod & Qian, Xiaolei, 2008. "The Environment and Well-Being in Urban China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 547-555, December.
    52. Dolan, Paul & Peasgood, Tessa & White, Mathew, 2008. "Do we really know what makes us happy A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 94-122, February.
    53. Oswald, Andrew J. & Wu, Stephen, 2010. "Objective Confirmation of Subjective Measures of Human Well-being: Evidence from the USA," IZA Discussion Papers 4695, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    54. Mark D. Partridge & Dan S. Rickman, 2007. "Place-based policy and rural poverty: insights from the urban spatial mismatch literature," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 1(1), pages 131-156.
    55. José Navarro-Azorín & Andrés Artal-Tur, 2015. "Foot Voting in Spain: What Do Internal Migrations Say About Quality of Life in the Spanish Municipalities?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 501-515, November.
    56. Partridge, Mark D. & Rickman, Dan S., 2007. "Persistent Pockets of Extreme American Poverty and Job Growth: Is There a Place-Based Policy Role?," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 32(1), pages 1-24, April.
    57. Easterlin, Richard A., 1995. "Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 35-47, June.
    58. David, Paul A. & Reder, Melvin W. (ed.), 1974. "Nations and Households in Economic Growth," Elsevier Monographs, Elsevier, edition 1, number 9780122050503.
    59. Alessandra Faggian & M. Rose Olfert & Mark D. Partridge, 2011. "Inferring regional well-being from individual revealed preferences: the 'voting with your feet' approach," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 5(1), pages 163-180.
    60. J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), 2004. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 4, number 4.
    61. John Helliwell & Haifang Huang & Shun Wang, 2014. "Social Capital and Well-Being in Times of Crisis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 145-162, February.
    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. Maguire, Karen & Winters, John V., 2016. "Energy Boom and Gloom? Local Effects of Oil and Natural Gas Drilling on Subjective Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 9811, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Karen Maguire & John V. Winters, 2017. "Energy Boom and Gloom? Local Effects of Oil and Natural Gas Drilling on Subjective Well†Being," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 590-610, December.
    3. Ferreira, Susana & Akay, Alpaslan & Brereton, Finbarr & Cuñado, Juncal & Martinsson, Peter & Moro, Mirko & Ningal, Tine F., 2013. "Life satisfaction and air quality in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1-10.
    4. Ahmadiani, Mona & Ferreira, Susana, 2019. "Environmental amenities and quality of life across the United States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Bertram, Christine & Rehdanz, Katrin, 2015. "The role of urban green space for human well-being," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 139-152.
    6. Welsch, Heinz & Ferreira, Susana, 2014. "Environment, Well-Being, and Experienced Preference," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 7(3-4), pages 205-239, December.
    7. O'Donnell, Gus & Oswald, Andrew J., 2015. "National well-being policy and a weighted approach to human feelings," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 59-70.
    8. Gustavo Ahumada & Victor Iturra & Mauricio Sarrias, 2020. "We Do Not Have the Same Tastes! Evaluating Individual Heterogeneity in the Preferences for Amenities," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 53-74, January.
    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.
    10. John Winters, 2013. "Differences in quality of life estimates using rents and home values," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(2), pages 377-409, October.
    11. Juncal Cuñado & Fernando Gracia, 2012. "Does Education Affect Happiness? Evidence for Spain," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 108(1), pages 185-196, August.
    12. Ary José A. Souza-Jr., 2021. "Climate change and behavior: Do environmental attitudes and perceptions impact on subjective well-being in Europe?," Working Papers REM 2021/0207, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    13. Jarvis, Diane & Stoeckl, Natalie & Liu, Hong-Bo, 2016. "The impact of economic, social and environmental factors on trip satisfaction and the likelihood of visitors returning," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-18.
    14. Sekulova, Filka & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2016. "Floods and happiness: Empirical evidence from Bulgaria," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 51-57.
    15. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Tobias D. Ketterer, 2012. "Do Local Amenities Affect The Appeal Of Regions In Europe For Migrants?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 535-561, October.
    16. Grimani, Katerina, 2014. "Labor earnings and Psychological well-being: An Empirical Analysis," MPRA Paper 57098, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Andrew J. Oswald & Stephen Wu, 2011. "Well-Being across America," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1118-1134, November.
    18. Alessandra Faggian & M. Rose Olfert & Mark D. Partridge, 2011. "Inferring regional well-being from individual revealed preferences: the 'voting with your feet' approach," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 5(1), pages 163-180.
    19. Andrew E. Clark & Paul Frijters & Michael A. Shields, 2006. "Income and happiness: Evidence, explanations and economic implications," PSE Working Papers halshs-00590436, HAL.
    20. Stutzer, Alois & Frey, Bruno S., 2010. "Recent Advances in the Economics of Individual Subjective Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 4850, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    subjective well-being; urbanization; population density; amenities; quality of life;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I00 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General - - - General
    • Q00 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - General
    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:okl:wpaper:1508. 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: Harounan Kazianga (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sboksus.html .

    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.