Subjective Life Satisfaction as an Indicator of Life Quality within the Framework of Sustainable Development

With the rise of environmental issues, the concept of sustainable development has become essential, asserting the interconnection between socio-economic development and environmental protection. There is a request for the qualitatively new development indicators, alternatives to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Currently, subjective life satisfaction is receiving special attention as an alternative to GDP and an indicator of life quality. The aim of this study is to identify the socio-ecological factors influencing subjective life satisfaction in both developed and developing countries. A comparative analysis of development indicators alternative to GDP is presented: the Human Development Index (HDI), the Happy Planet Index, the Better Life Index, and the Happiness Index presented in the World Happiness Report. Possible reasons for cross-country disparities in happiness levels are explored, including the East Asian happiness deficit and the Latin American happiness surplus. Based on data from the World Happiness Report, the Sustainable Development Report, and the World Bank, econometric models with fixed effects (panel data) were constructed using Gretl software. Econometric modeling based on data from developed countries revealed a negative impact of negative emotions on happiness levels and a positive impact of the proportion of the population feeling safe when alone outdoors at night. For developing countries, significant variables included the logarithm of GDP per capita, and the Women, Business and Law Index developed by the World Bank — both indicators demonstrated a positive influence on happiness levels. The results obtained serve as a guide for policy measures aimed at increasing happiness levels in both developed and developing countries.

1. Alesina A., Di Tella R., MacCulloch R. (2004) Inequality and Happiness: Are Europeans and Americans Different? Journal of Public Economics. Vol. 88. Is. 9–10. P. 2009–2042. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2003.07.006

2. Antipina O.N. (2017) Economy, Culture and Happiness: Is There Interconnection? Mirovaya ekonomika i mezhdunarodnyye otnosheniya. Vol. 61. No. 7. P. 35–44. DOI: 10.20542/0131–2227–2017–61–7-35–44

3. Barkova E.V. (2022) “Ekonomika schast’ya” v zerkale ekofilosofii [The “Economics of happiness” in the mirror of ecophilosophy]. Global’naya neopredelennost’. Razvitiye ili degradatsiya mirovoy ekonomiki?: Sbornik statey XI Mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii. V 2-kh tomakh. Tom 2. Moscow: Rossiyskiy ekonomicheskiy universitet imeni G.V. Plekhanova. P. 166–172.

4. Bobylev S.N. (2023) In Search of Sustainability Measurement. Gosudarstvennoye regulirovaniye ekonomiki i povysheniye effektivnosti deyatel’nosti sub”yektov khozyaystvovaniya: Sbornik nauchnykh statey XVII Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii, posvyashchennoy pamyati professora S. A. Pelikha. Minsk: [without publisher]. P. 15–19.

5. Chinakova N.V. (2016) Economics of Happiness: Current Research and Discussion. Mir ekonomiki i upravleniya. Vol. 16. No. 1. P. 101–115.

6. Drobot E.V. (2023) Challenges and Prospects of Economic Development of the South Pacific Countries amidst Global Changes of the First Quarter of the 21st Century. Voprosy innovatsionnoy ekonomiki. Vol. 13. No. 4. P. 1795–1824. DOI: 10.18334/vinec.13.4.120153

7. Easterlin R.A. (1974 Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence. Nations and Households in Economic Growth. P. 89–125. DOI: 10.1016/B978–0-12–205050–3.50008–7

8. Easterlin R.A., Angelescu McVey L., Switek M., Sawangfa O., Zweig J.S. (2010) The Happiness-Income Paradox Revisited. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 107. Is. 52. P. 22463–22468. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1015962107

9. Finadeeva A.A. (2020) Economy of Ecological Tourism. Sochi Journal of Economy. Vol. 14. No. 1. P. 54–65.

10. Garin A.A. (2020) Official Development Assistance as an Aspect of the Austria-China Competition in the South Pacific. Yugo-Vostochnaya Aziya: aktual’nyye problemy razvitiya. Vol. 3. No. 4(49). P. 193–205. DOI: 10.31696/2072–8271–2020–3-4–49–193–205

11. Goffe N.V., Monusova G.A. (2020) Vospriyatiye sotsial’nykh realiy i sub»yektivnoye blagopoluchiye v razvitykh stranakh [Perception of social reality and subjective well-being in developed countries]. Moscow: IMEMO RAN. DOI: 10.20542/978–5-9535–0580–2

12. Kadomtseva M.E. (2023) The Concept of Sustainable Development: The Evolution of Theoretical Approaches and Modern Vision. AlterEconomics. Vol. 20. No. 1. P. 166–188. DOI: 10.31063/AlterEconomics/2023.20–1.9

13. Kahneman D., Deaton A. (2010) High Income Improves Evaluation of Life but Not Emotional Well-Being. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 107. Is. 38. P. 16489–16493. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1011492107

14. Layard R. (2012) Happiness: Lessons from a New Science. Moscow: Izd. Instituta Gaydara. Ng Y.K. (2002) East-Asian Happiness Gap. Pacific Economic Review. Vol. 7. P. 51–63. DOI: 10.1111/1468–0106.00149

15. Seligman M. (2013) A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Moscow: Mann, Ivanov i Ferber.

16. Shmatova Yu.E., Morev M.V. (2015) Assessing the Level of Happiness: A Review of Russian and Foreign Research. Ekonomicheskiye i sotsial’nyye peremeny: fakty, tendentsii, prognoz. No. 3(39). P. 141–162. DOI: 10.15838/esc/2015.3.39.11

17. Simaev N.S. (2023) Vliyaniye energeticheskogo sektora na ustoychivoye razvitiye ekonomiki [The impact of the energy sector on the sustainable development of the economy]. Ekonomika, menedzhment, servis: sovremennyye problemy i perspektivy: Materialy V Vserossiyskoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii. Omsk: Omskiy gosudarstvennyy tekhnicheskiy universitet. P. 183–186.

18. Skachkova L.S., Yakovleva Ye.A., Gerasimova O.YA., Krivosheyeva-Medyantseva D.D. (2023) O formirovanii novoy nauki: sistematicheskiy obzor mezhdistsiplinarnykh issledovaniy ekonomiki schast’ya [On the formation of a new science: a systematic review of interdisciplinary research on the economics of happiness]. Institutsional’naya transformatsiya ekonomiki: pravila effektivnoy politiki (Vostochnaya konferentsiya ITE- 2023): Materialy VIII Mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii. Novosibirsk: Novosibirskiy gosudarstvennyy universitet ekonomiki i upravleniya “NINKH”. P. 228–229.

19. Sorokin P.A. (1992) Sotsiologicheskiy progress i printsip schast’ya. Chelovek. Tsivilizatsiya. Obshchestvo [Sociological progress and the principle of happiness. Human. Civilization. Society.]. Moscow: Politizdat.

20. Stiglitz J.E., Sen A., Fitoussi J-P. (2009) The Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress Revisited. France: OFCE.

21. Sukhoverkhov A.V., Kalitko S.A. (2022) The Theory of Happiness in the 21st Century: In Search of the Socioeconomic Foundations. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. No. 478. P. 50–57. DOI: 10.17223/15617793/478/6

22. Veenhoven R. (2005) Inequality of Happiness in Nations. Journal of Happiness Studies. Vol. 6. P. 351–355.

23. Veenhoven R. (2015) Happiness as a Priority in Public Policy. In: Joseph S. (ed.) Positive Psychology in Practice: Promoting Human Flourishing in Work, Health, Education, and Everyday Life. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. P. 731–750. DOI: 10.1002/9781118996874.ch42

24. Vinogradova E.M. (2023) Measuring Happiness as an Alternative to GDP in Terms of Sustainable Development. Aktual’nyye voprosy otraslevykh rynkov i mezhdunarodnoy kommertsii. No. 1(7). P. 43–48.