The Happy Few. Cross-Country Evidence on Social Capital and Life Satisfaction

Christian Bjørnskov

The Happy Few. Cross-Country Evidence on Social Capital and Life Satisfaction

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Abstract

I examine why the populations of certain countries are so much more satisfied with their lives than the rest of the world. In cross-country analyses, income per capita, economic uncertainty and expectations for the future are robust predictors of happiness while a social capital measure emerges strongly and robustly associated with happiness. Moreover, the effect of investing in social capital is remarkably strong compared to the alternatives. I conclude that the populations in a few Northern European countries are probably the happiest in the world because of their high levels of social capital more than their pecuniary affluence.

Translated title of the contribution	The Happy Few. Cross-Country Evidence on Social Capital and Life Satisfaction
Original language	English
Journal	Kyklos
Volume	56
Issue	1
Pages (from-to)	3-16
Number of pages	14
ISSN	0023-5962
Publication status	Published - 2003

Keywords

Social Capital
Happiness

Cite this

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