Search results

With this reappraisal, the purpose of this paper is to present a reflexion on and discussion of the concept of quality of life (QL) with the intention of delimiting its meaning and application within the scope of the research project entitled “Costs and benefits of urban dispersion on a local scale”.

The concept of QL contains a significant degree of complexity and multidimensional variables, in addition to the dynamic nature inherent in all social phenomena. The application of this concept at a local level and within the context of the Portuguese socio‐territorial reality requires rethinking the concept through the different authors and approaches, in order to delineate the research process, and guarantee its operationalisation, selecting the social indicators than can serve this purpose, with the intent of gaining a clearer understanding of QL as perceived and evaluated by the people and groups living in various dispersed urban areas.

From the readings of literature in the field, one can understand the importance of choosing the relevant domains when analysing and measuring QL. As with the choice of indicators, in order to be able to measure the QL, simultaneously, at a local level, the choice of indicators and the delimitation of units of analysis are also fundamental in order to be able to obtain the comparison and real measure of quality of life and not the contingencies of specific contextual characteristics.

The study aims to open a new research perspective in the field of social sciences, more specifically in the areas related to QL and urban dispersion.

The purpose of this viewpoint is to introduce happiness research for public policy and administration scholars and practitioners. It focuses on what can be useful for the discipline, provides relevant examples and presents the most recent findings and directions for future research.

This paper is a combination of literature review, argumentation and illustrations.

Over the past few decades, there has been a tremendous growth in happiness research, and over the past few years, this research has started addressing policy issues such as housing, transportation and inequality. Strikingly, public policy and administration discipline has failed to notice these developments. Happiness research has great potential, and it can be used in many theoretical and practical ways to advance the common good.

Happiness is extremely important and useful for public policy and administration and yet largely overlooked in the discipline. Existing literature reviews are not written with the discipline in mind, and this viewpoint is aimed at filling this gap.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether economic growth enhances life satisfaction. It provides a conceptual solution to the heavily debated Easterlin paradox which states that aggregate income positively relates to life satisfaction in one‐time international comparisons but not in longitudinal analyses. First empirical results are presented for Germany.

The present study uses path analysis to capture not only direct but also mediated effects of economic growth on life satisfaction. Findings – The paper finds that economic growth does enhance life satisfaction over time. The effect is not direct but mediated via consumer confidence, customer satisfaction, income satisfaction, health satisfaction and job satisfaction. Modeled by consumer confidence, adaptive expectations reduce this effect but cannot entirely compensate for it, as suggested by literature. In addition to this negative compensatory effect which is mediated by customer satisfaction, consumer confidence has a positive direct influence on life satisfaction.

Since the history of aggregate customer satisfaction measurement is still young, this empirical analysis should be seen as pioneer work. Future research on the Easterlin paradox should utilize future data, model mediated relationships and time lags, and integrate customer satisfaction and consumer confidence.

Economic growth strategies are successful in raising life satisfaction. Governments should not only pay attention to quantitative but also to qualitative growth. Collective optimism can improve life satisfaction.

This study contributes to solving the Easterlin paradox. Unlike the extant literature on the Easterlin paradox, this paper integrates national customer satisfaction and consumer confidence into a sociologic model and explicitly accounts for mediated effects. National customer satisfaction is used to model qualitative aspects of economic growth.

This chapter provides a didactic analysis of a course-based service-learning research experience. The author explores undergraduate honors college students’ development of self-determination, co-determination, and solidarity vis-á-vis a Humboldtian theory of human bildung – cultivation of humanity. This particular analysis provides a case study for using course-based service-learning research experiences with undergraduate students in larger research-intensive universities. It provides students with an opportunity to learn and practice qualitative research methods and analysis, and provides time and space for them to make a difference in the world, which they seem so keen to do.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, at a national scale, how self-reported happiness varies with the different levels of environmental conditions resulting from national policies, while also considering different levels of freedom.

The authors estimated the effects of environmental performance on happiness using the log-log regression model presented.

Environmental performance is shown to have a direct impact on happiness. Nonetheless, the explanatory influence of freedom is only significantly positive for free countries, where the institutional and political arrangements are better established and thereby the effective democracy is more solid.

This article offers insights into happiness levels within the context of the current clamour for environmental protection and more sustainable development goals.

The study aims to delve into the influence of tourism on the happiness of city residents, grounded in the overarching concept of livability. It posits that prioritizing residents’ happiness is crucial for effectively addressing cities’ challenges in balancing development and distinctiveness. The study pursues three primary objectives: first, establishing a potential correlation between city tourism and residents’ happiness; second, examining the contributing factors to this correlation and third, identifying potential mediators that influence the connection between tourism development and residents’ happiness.

Using a quantitative single-case design and partial least square analysis, the study underscores the intricate nature of various tourism development components. It specifically explores the roles of cognitive flexibility and social comparison in shaping the relationship between city tourism and happiness.

The findings make a distinctive contribution by revealing that not all tourism domains contribute positively to happiness. Furthermore, it sheds light on how tourism development impacts the emotional and cognitive dimensions of happiness, emphasizing the adverse effects of inequality and feelings of insecurity.

The study acknowledges certain constraints, including its employment of a cross-sectional design, the issue of generalizability, potential sampling bias and the reliance on subjective measurements when evaluating constructs like happiness and satisfaction with life. Using self-reported data introduces susceptibility to social desirability bias and individual perceptual differences, potentially resulting in measurement inaccuracies. Nevertheless, despite these limitations, the study’s findings offer valuable insights that contribute to both theoretical advancement and the realm of urban management.

The findings elucidated through the mediation analyses conducted for hypotheses three to seven shed light on the significant roles played by mental adaptation and social comparison mechanisms in shaping individuals’ happiness. These insights substantially enhance our understanding of this field. Particularly, the dimensions of social and environmental impact within tourism appear to counterbalance the positive effects stemming from the economic and cultural aspects. This suggests a scenario where an excessive focus on tourism development could potentially undermine the overall livability of the city. These outcomes further indicate the necessity for proactive interventions by destination managers. Their efforts should be directed toward enhancing the environmental and social domains, aiming to reinvigorate the sense of community among residents, which appears to be gradually waning.

The outcomes of this study emphasize the utmost significance of prioritizing residents’ happiness above mere considerations of economic growth when formulating efficacious strategies for tourism. By concentrating on the happiness of the local population, a harmonious resonance is established with Sustainable Development Goal 11, which advocates for the creation of habitable cities founded upon the principle that “a city that is not good for its citizens is not good for tourists.” This alignment underscores the interconnected nature of residents’ happiness and the sustainable development of tourism. Moreover, residents’ happiness plays a pivotal role in addressing the challenge that cities face in harmonizing growth and their uniqueness, ensuring competitiveness and sustainability.

The research underscores the need for a people-oriented perspective in urban planning and tourism development initiatives. The study identifies diverse factors impacting residents’ happiness in city tourism, highlighting the complex interplay of environmental, cultural and socioeconomic elements. It emphasizes income’s role but underscores nonmaterial factors and individual preferences. Overall, the study offers timely and valuable insights into the intricate connection between tourism development, residents’ happiness, living conditions and human perception, guiding urban planners and stakeholders.

The paper attempts to empirically assess whether GDP per capita or the human capital index is a better measure of happiness.

Cross‐country regressions are run to see how GDP per capita fairs in comparison to the human capital index in explaining happiness based on survey questionnaires.

The paper finds that GDP per capita accounts for a far greater share of the cross country variation in happiness based on survey data than the human capita index and assorted other measures of human welfare.

The important implication is that the often heard criticism that GDP per capita is inappropriate for use in economic analysis, especially in the area of economic development and other international fields, because it is not specifically designed as a measure of welfare, may be unfounded.

The paper shows that GDP per capita is a better measure of happiness defined in surveys than the human capital index.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamics between gross domestic product (GDP), environmental degradation and happiness, by using country-level panel-data covering 23 countries, for the period 1961-2005.

For the analysis the authors employed the vector autoregression (VAR) approach in a panel framework.

The main results show that a high level of happiness is associated with a low level of GDP on short term (one year). The joint influence of GDP and environmental degradation on happiness is not significant, while GDP and happiness are unrelated to environmental degradation.

The paper extends the literature on developed countries and offers a particular perspective on the relationship between environment degradation and happiness through a GDP growth impulse analysis.

The paper offers two main novelties: it simultaneously investigates the “well-being – environment”, and “well-being – economic dimension”, and it uses a panel-VAR approach, including the cross-country variation.

Sociologists are discussing whether or not economic growth enhances subjective well‐being. To complement their research from a housing perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether aggregate income enhances dwelling satisfaction over time. While cross‐sectional studies have only examined the direct influence of income on dwelling satisfaction, this paper suggests that there are additional influences mediated by other social indicators.

Based on data from Germany, correlation and regression analyses examine the impacts of aggregate income and other social indicators on dwelling satisfaction. Path analysis is used to test for the existence of mediated relationships.

The paper finds that aggregate income positively influences dwelling satisfaction. Environmental satisfaction, customer satisfaction and satisfaction with family relations also positively impact dwelling satisfaction and mediate influences of aggregate income. The mediated effects are stronger than the direct effect of aggregate income on dwelling satisfaction.

The longitudinal availability of aggregate customer satisfaction data is still limited. Future research on dwelling satisfaction is encouraged to account for customer satisfaction and to reexamine the analyses of this study with future data.

Stimulating economic growth is a good strategy to improve dwelling satisfaction. Policies improving the environment, family support and shopping opportunities are also effective.

This paper is original in that it examines the impacts of economic growth and customer satisfaction on dwelling satisfaction. While the extant literature has only analysed direct effects of income on dwelling satisfaction, this study also accounts for mediated effects.