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67
The life satisfaction question is:
Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to ten at the
top. Suppose we say that the top of the ladder represents the best possible life for
you, and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On
which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time,
assuming that the higher the step the better you feel about your life, and the lower
the step the worse you feel about it? Which step comes closest to the way you
feel?
The respondents answer on a scale from 0 to 10. The life satisfaction question used in this
analysis is different from the typical life satisfaction question. The more typical life
satisfaction question is asked in some countries and waves, but only 46% of individuals
who responded to the best/worst possible life satisfaction question responded to the
typical question. Thus, I use the best/worst question in this paper.
The main independent variable is whether an individual is male or female. In the
regressions where I control for individual circumstances I examine objective factors that
are typically included in happiness regressions.11 The objective factors include
demographic characteristics and life circumstances. The specific questions for these
variables and response categories are given in Appendix 2.B. The demographic and life
circumstance variables are age, marital status, education, employment status, attendance
at a religious ceremony in the previous week, residential location, and health. Marital
status is divided into single, married, and previously married. The latter includes
divorced, separated, and widowed. The categories for education level are elementary,
secondary, and tertiary. Residential location is divided into rural, small town, and large
city. For the purpose of this analysis, the first two categories are grouped together. The
11 See Dolan et al. (2008) for a summary of the main determinants of happiness based on the economics of
happiness literature.
67
Object Description
| Title | Essays on health and well-being |
| Author | Zweig, Jacqueline Smith |
| Author email | smith2@usc.edu; jackiesmith04@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Economics |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-23 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Restricted until 26 Apr. 2012. |
| Date published | 2012-04-26 |
| Advisor (committee chair) |
Easterlin, Richard A. Ham, John C. |
| Advisor (committee member) | Melguizo, Tatiana |
| Abstract | This dissertation is comprised of three chapters that use microeconometric techniques to investigate the factors that affect people’s well-being. In the first two chapters, well-being is defined as life satisfaction or health satisfaction. The first chapter explores how the movement from socialism to capitalism affected the life satisfaction and health satisfaction of East Germans relative to West Germans after reunification. The second chapter examines whether women are happier, less happy, or equally happy as men in countries at various stages of development. The third chapter examines whether pollution affects the academic performance of school children; their academic performance and achievements will have important implications for their future well-being. |
| Keyword | happiness; well-being |
| Geographic subject | Germany |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 1990/2010; 2002/2008 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3782 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Zweig, Jacqueline Smith |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Zweig-4500 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume23/etd-Zweig-4500.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 76 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 67 The life satisfaction question is: Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to ten at the top. Suppose we say that the top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you, and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time, assuming that the higher the step the better you feel about your life, and the lower the step the worse you feel about it? Which step comes closest to the way you feel? The respondents answer on a scale from 0 to 10. The life satisfaction question used in this analysis is different from the typical life satisfaction question. The more typical life satisfaction question is asked in some countries and waves, but only 46% of individuals who responded to the best/worst possible life satisfaction question responded to the typical question. Thus, I use the best/worst question in this paper. The main independent variable is whether an individual is male or female. In the regressions where I control for individual circumstances I examine objective factors that are typically included in happiness regressions.11 The objective factors include demographic characteristics and life circumstances. The specific questions for these variables and response categories are given in Appendix 2.B. The demographic and life circumstance variables are age, marital status, education, employment status, attendance at a religious ceremony in the previous week, residential location, and health. Marital status is divided into single, married, and previously married. The latter includes divorced, separated, and widowed. The categories for education level are elementary, secondary, and tertiary. Residential location is divided into rural, small town, and large city. For the purpose of this analysis, the first two categories are grouped together. The 11 See Dolan et al. (2008) for a summary of the main determinants of happiness based on the economics of happiness literature. 67 |
