Volume 12, Issue 44 (7-2021)
jemr 2021, 12(44): 45-84 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Dadgar Y, Eizadkhsti H, Seyedi S M. Impact of Good Governance Quality and Income upon Happiness in Selected Countries. jemr 2021; 12 (44) :45-84
URL: http://jemr.khu.ac.ir/article-1-2163-en.html
URL: http://jemr.khu.ac.ir/article-1-2163-en.html
1- Shahid Beheshty University , yydadgar@gmail.com
2- Shahid Beheshty University
3- Shahid Beheshti University
2- Shahid Beheshty University
3- Shahid Beheshti University
Abstract: (3595 Views)
The change of theoretical base in the area of welfare economy and due to economic evolution along time, in recent decades happiness has been considered as an important index for measuring welfare in individual and social levels along with other initial proxies such as wealth, consumption, gross domestic production. This particularly has attracted many economists attention such that they investigate the impact of economic variables on happiness. Government is an unclear and effective factor over nations happiness. Because government functions in expanding happiness through two channels. Direct channel and indirect channel. Therefore, the impact of governance over happiness increase is significant. This study is using panel data for investigating the impact of governance over happiness. Six Kaufmann governance indices has been used for assessing 112 nations governance in time period of (2006-2019). These six indices have been divided into two sub-index technical quality and democratic quality and has been evaluated by three equations. Also the sample was divided in two groups and the impact of governance on happiness was studied carefully. Income variable along with two control variables government expenditures and misery index were added to the function. These study findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between increase in income, governance improvement and happiness expansion. The effectiveness of governance quality in parallel with increasing happiness is considerable to democracy quality. This result is confirmed in all poor and rich nations, and its impact on poor nations is more than the rich ones. Income has significant direct effect on expanding happiness. Income coefficients are positive in each 3 group and for the poor is greater than the rich. Two control variables government expenses and misery index in all countries have positive and negative relationship with happiness respectively. The existent relationship holds for rich nations, but the coefficient of government expenses for poor nations is negative. On this basis, it can be said that governments have a significant and undeniable role in promoting the level of happiness in society by improving the quality of governance and reducing the misery index in the economy. Also the significance of gross domestic production and economic growth should not be ignored.
Type of Study: Applicable |
Subject:
بخش عمومی
Received: 2021/03/15 | Accepted: 2021/10/23 | Published: 2022/01/25
Received: 2021/03/15 | Accepted: 2021/10/23 | Published: 2022/01/25
References
1. Dadgar, Y., & Nazari, R. (2017). The impact of economic growth on misery index on Iranian economy, Economic Journal of Law and Economics, 45(7), 175-193. [DOI:10.1007/s10657-012-9327-2]
2. Ebrahimi S. (2012). The Effect of Capital Inflow on Real Exchange Rate in Developing Countries. Journal of Economic Modeling Research, 2 (7), 1-26 (In Persian).
3. Jeylaei Aghdam, J., Daghighiasli, A. R., Daman Kashide, M., & Asmailzadh Magari, A. (2020). The Long-Run Relationship between External Government Debt and Economic Growth in Developing Countries with Upper Middle Income Level (Panel Co-Integration Approach). Journal of Economic Modeling Research, 10(40), 159-183 (In Persian). [DOI:10.29252/jemr.10.40.159]
4. Ouardighi, J. E., & Munier, F. (2019). Inflation, Unemployment and Happiness: empirical evidences of the contribution of Economic Growth. Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
5. Ravallion, M., & Lokshin, M. (2000). Identifying welfare effects from subjective questions. Economica, 68(271), 335-357. [DOI:10.1111/1468-0335.00250]
6. Abounoori, E., & Eskandari, J. (2016). Comparing the effects of unemployment and inflation on happiness. The Journal of Economic Policy, 8(15), 137-152 (In Persian).
7. Afshari, Z., & Dahmardeh, L. (2015). The Impact of Poverty, Income Inequality and Human Development Index on Happiness. A Panel Data Approach. Economic Development Policy, 2(4), 31-59 (In Persian).
8. Ali, M. S. B., & Sassi, S. (2016). The corruption-inflation nexus: evidence from developed and developing countries. The BE Journal of Macroeconomics, 16(1), 125-144. [DOI:10.1515/bejm-2014-0080]
9. Alois, P. (2014). Income inequality and happiness: is there a relationship? (No. 614). LIS, WP Series.
10. Arshed, N., Arif, A., Abbas, R. Z., & Hameed, K. (2021). Comparing quality of institutions with happiness of Asian people. Estudios de economía aplicada, 39(2), 12. [DOI:10.25115/eea.v39i2.3431]
11. Bjørnskov, C., Dreher, A., & Fischer, J. A. (2006). The bigger the better? Evidence of the effect of government size on life satisfaction around the world. Public Choice, 130(3-4), 267-292. [DOI:10.1007/s11127-006-9081-5]
12. Bjørnskov, C., Dreher, A., & Fischer, J. A. (2010). Formal institutions and subjective well-being: Revisiting the cross-country evidence. European Journal of Political Economy, 26(4), 419-430. [DOI:10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2010.03.001]
13. Blanchflower, D. G., Bell, D. N., Montagnoli, A., & Moro, M. (2013). The effects of macroeconomic shocks on well-being., University of Stirling presss.
14. Blanchflower, D. G., Bell, D. N., Montagnoli, A., & Moro, M. (2014). The happiness trade‐off between unemployment and inflation. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 46(S2), 117-141. [DOI:10.1111/jmcb.12154]
15. Böckerman, P., & Ilmakunnas, P. (2004). Elusive effects of unemployment on happiness. Social Indicators Research, 79(1), 159-169. [DOI:10.1007/s11205-005-4609-5]
16. Bolle, F., Okhrin, Y., & Vogel, C. (2009). A note on interdependent happiness. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 38(5), 713-721. [DOI:10.1016/j.socec.2009.03.007]
17. Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New York, USA: New Brunswick.
18. Clark, A. E., & Oswald, A. J. (1994). Unhappiness and unemployment. The Economic Journal, 104(424), 648-659. [DOI:10.2307/2234639]
19. Clark, A. E., Frijters, P., & Shields, M. A. (2008). Relative income, happiness, and utility: An explanation for the Easterlin paradox and other puzzles. Journal of Economic literature, 46(1), 95-144. [DOI:10.1257/jel.46.1.95]
20. Dadgar, Y. (2018). Public sector economics. Fourth edition. Mofid University Publisher (In Persian).
21. Dadgar, Y., & Nazari, R. (2017). The impact of good governance on environmental pollution in South West Asian Countries. Iranian Journal of economic studies, 5(1), 49-63.
22. Debnath, R. M., & Shankar, R. (2014). Does good governance enhance happiness: A cross nation study, Social indicators research, 116(1), 235-253. [DOI:10.1007/s11205-013-0275-1]
23. Di Tella, R., & MacCulloch, R. (2008). Gross national happiness as an answer to the Easterlin Paradox? Journal of Development Economics, 86(1), 22-42. [DOI:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2007.06.008]
24. Di Tella, R., MacCulloch, R. J., & Oswald, A. J. (2000). Preferences over inflation and unemployment: Evidence from surveys of happiness. American economic review, 91(1), 335-341. [DOI:10.1257/aer.91.1.335]
25. Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological bulletin, 125(2), 276. [DOI:10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276]
26. Dorn, D., Fischer, J. A., Kirchgässner, G., & Sousa-Poza, A. (2007). Is it culture or democracy? The impact of democracy and culture on happiness. Social Indicators Research, 82(3), 505-526. [DOI:10.1007/s11205-006-9048-4]
27. Duncan, G. (2008). Should happiness-maximization be the goal of government? Journal of happiness Studies, 11(2), 163-178. [DOI:10.1007/s10902-008-9129-y]
28. Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In Nations and households in economic growth. Academic Press. [DOI:10.1016/B978-0-12-205050-3.50008-7]
29. Easterlin, R. A. (2003). Explaining happiness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(19), 11176-11183. [DOI:10.1073/pnas.1633144100]
30. Easterlin, R. A., McVey, L. A., Switek, M., Sawangfa, O., & Zweig, J. S. (2010). The happiness-income paradox revisited. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(52), 22463-22468. [DOI:10.1073/pnas.1015962107]
31. Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell, A., & Ramos, X. (2013). Inequality and happiness. Journal of Economic Surveys, 28(5), 1016-1027. [DOI:10.1111/joes.12049]
32. Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2000). Happiness, economy and institutions. The Economic Journal, 110(466), 918-938. [DOI:10.1111/1468-0297.00570]
33. Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic literature, 40(2), 402-435. [DOI:10.1257/jel.40.2.402]
34. Hayo, B. (2007). Happiness in transition: An empirical study on Eastern Europe. Economic Systems, 31(2), 204-221. [DOI:10.1016/j.ecosys.2006.08.003]
35. Headey, B., & Wearing, A. (1992). Understanding happiness: A theory of subjective well-being. Melbourne, Australia: Longman Cheshire Pty Limited.
36. Helliwell, J. F., & Huang, H. (2008). How's your government? International evidence linking good government and well-being. British Journal of Political Science, 38(4), 595-619. [DOI:10.1017/S0007123408000306]
37. Helliwell, J. F., & Huang, H. (2014). New measures of the costs of unemployment: Evidence from the subjective well‐being of 3.3 million Americans. Economic Inquiry, 52(4), 1485-1502. [DOI:10.1111/ecin.12093]
38. Helliwell, J. F., Huang, H., & Wang, S. (2020). Happiness and the Quality of Government. National Bureau of Economic Research (No. w26840) [DOI:10.3386/w26840]
39. Helliwell, J. F., Huang, H., Grover, S., & Wang, S. (2018). Empirical linkages between good governance and national well-being. Journal of Comparative Economics, 46(4), 1332-1346. [DOI:10.1016/j.jce.2018.01.004]
40. Helliwell, J. F., Huang, H., Wang, S., & Norton, M. (2020). The social foundations of world happiness. World Happiness Report 2020.
41. Hsiao, Cheng. (2003). Analysis of panel data, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
42. Huang, C. J. (2016). The impact of governance on happiness: Evidence from quantile regressions. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, 10(7), 2539-2542.
43. Kahneman, D., & Krueger, A. B. (2006). Developments in the measurement of subjective well-being. Journal of Economic perspectives, 20(1), 3-24. [DOI:10.1257/089533006776526030]
44. Kalirajan, K. P. (1992). Modeling earnings distorting government intervention: The case of Singapore's managerial earnings. Journal of Comparative Economics, 16(1), 105-117. [DOI:10.1016/0147-5967(92)90119-R]
45. Kaufmann, D., Kraay, A., & Mastruzzi, M. (2008). Governance matters VII: Aggregate and individual governance indicators, 1996-2007. World Bank policy research, WP (4654). [DOI:10.1596/1813-9450-4654]
46. Kenny, C. (1999). Does growth cause happiness, or does happiness cause growth? Kyklos, 52(1), 3-25. [DOI:10.1111/j.1467-6435.1999.tb00576.x]
47. Khorsandi, M., & Alibabaei, N. (2016). Is unemployment costly or inflation? Comparing the effects of unemployment and inflation on happiness. Economic Research Journal, (68), 1-24 (In Persian).
48. Khorsandi, M., & Azizi, Z. (2015). Estimating the Threshold Effect of Unemployment on Happiness. Economic Development Policy, 3(2), 59-79 (In Persian).
49. Luhmann, M., Hofmann, W., Eid, M., & Lucas, R. E. (2012). Subjective well-being and adaptation to life events: a meta-analysis. Journal of personality and social psychology, 102(3), 592. [DOI:10.1037/a0025948]
50. Meidari A. Introduction to Good Governance Theory. refahj. 2006; 6 (22) :261-0 (In Persian).
51. Mohamadzadeh, P., Asgharpur, H., & Maniee, O. (2013). The effect of income on labor force happiness in Iran (In Persian).
52. Mohammadinmansor, S., Golkhandan, A., Khansari, M., & Golkhandan, D. (2016). An analysis of socio-economic factors affecting happiness (an econometric analysis with regard to religious restrictions). Social Development & Welfare Planning, 7(25), 125-163 (In Persian).
53. Nili, F., & Babazadeh Khorasani, B. (2013). Identification of Factors Affecting Subjective Welfare in Iran Monetary & Banking Research (In Persian).
54. Nili, F., Babazadeh Khorasani, B., & Shadkar, M. S. (2015). Analyzing Dependency of Subjective Well-being in Developing Countries to Macroeconomic Factors. Journal of Economic Research (Tahghighat-E-Eghtesadi), 50(1), 21-48 (In Persian).
55. Ochsen, C., & Welsch, H. (2011). The social costs of unemployment: accounting for unemployment duration. Applied Economics, 43(27), 3999-4005. [DOI:10.1080/00036841003761900]
56. Oswald, A. J. (1997). Happiness and economic performance. The economic journal, 107(445), 1815-1831. [DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0297.1997.tb00085.x]
57. Ott, J. C. (2009). Good governance and happiness in nations: Technical quality precedes democracy and quality beats size. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(3), 353-368. [DOI:10.1007/s10902-009-9144-7]
58. Ott, J. C. (2010). Government and happiness in 130 nations: Good governance fosters higher level and more equality of happiness. Social indicators research, 102(1), 3-22. [DOI:10.1007/s11205-010-9719-z]
59. Roy, D. S., & Samanta, D. (2010). Good governance and employment generation through NREGA: A case study of Gram Panchayat in West Bengal. In Conference on" Infrastructure, Finance and Governance: Push for Growth, Organized by Ministry of Rural Development, GOI.
60. Ruprah, I. J., & Luengas, P. (2011). Monetary policy and happiness: Preferences over inflation and unemployment in Latin America. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 40(1), 59-66 [DOI:10.1016/j.socec.2010.08.001]
61. Ruprah, I. J., & Luengas, P. (2011). Monetary policy and happiness: Preferences over inflation and unemployment in Latin America. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 40(1), 59-66. [DOI:10.1016/j.socec.2010.08.001]
62. Sanfey, P., & Teksoz, U. (2005). Does transition make you happy? Economics of Transition, 15(4), 707-731. [DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0351.2007.00309.x]
63. Sassi, S., & Gasmi, A. (2017). The Dynamic Relationship between Corruption-Inflation: Evidence from Panel Vector Autoregression. The Japanese Economic Review, 68(4), 458-469. [DOI:10.1111/jere.12134]
64. Sinn, H. W. (1986). Vacant land and the role of government intervention. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 16(3), 353-385. [DOI:10.1016/0166-0462(86)90030-X]
65. Veenhoven, R. (2000). The four qualities of life. Journal of happiness studies, 1(1), 1-39. [DOI:10.1023/A:1010072010360]
66. Veenhoven, R. (2004). Happiness as an aim in public policy: The greatest happiness principle, Erasmus University Rotterdam Press.
67. Veenhoven, R., Ehrhardt, J., Ho, M. S. D., & de Vries, A. (1993). Happiness in nations: Subjective appreciation of life in 56 nations 1946-1992. Erasmus University Rotterdam Press.
68. Woo, C. (2018). Good governance and happiness: Does technical quality of governance lead to happiness universally in both rich and poor countries? Journal of International and Area Studies, 25(1), 37-56.
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
