Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Yen-Lien Kuo
Author-X-Name-First: Yen-Lien
Author-X-Name-Last: Kuo
Author-Name: Tzu-Hsiu Huang
Author-X-Name-First: Tzu-Hsiu
Author-X-Name-Last: Huang
Title: The impacts of increasing leisure time on subjective health and life satisfaction
Abstract:
This paper investigates the relationships between working hours, changes in time spent on leisure and sports activities, perceived health status, and individual life satisfaction. Data from the 2013 Taiwan Social Change Survey is employed in this study. The results show that more working hours significantly lower life satisfaction. Increasing leisure time can significantly improve subjective health, and better subjective health can significantly enhance life satisfaction. Furthermore, subjective health partially mediates the effect of leisure time on life satisfaction. However, the mediating effect does not exist for full-time employees although increasing leisure time can still improve life satisfaction. The reason for this could be that the subjective health of full-time employees is already better than that of those not working full-time. Initiatives leading to reduced working hours and increases in leisure time may increase life satisfaction and may result in reductions in medical expenses.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 26-40
Issue: 1
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: working hours; leisure time; subjective health; life satisfaction; mediating effect; full-time employee; ordered Probit.
File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=108751
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:1:p:26-40

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Mihail Diakomihalis
Author-X-Name-First: Mihail
Author-X-Name-Last: Diakomihalis
Title: A regional social progress index: the case of Epirus, Greece
Abstract:
With reference to a social progress index (SPI), this paper considers the progress level of the region of Epirus, Greece, to gain insights into factors affecting different facets of the region's social wellbeing and to identify its socioeconomic strengths and weaknesses. In a sample of respondents representing three levels of education and three types of employment who live in Epirus, the region is empirically evaluated for how satisfying it meets three criteria (i.e., basic human needs, foundations of well-being, and personal and social opportunities) and each of their four sub criteria. Revealing wide variation in the satisfaction of Epirus's mean scores compared to those of wellbeing indices applied worldwide and in Greece, the results informed suggestions for improving Epirus's social progress and for verifying its current development relative to other regions of EU member countries.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 41-58
Issue: 1
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: SPI; social progress index; basic human needs; criteria of well-being; personal and social opportunities; Epirus; Greece.
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:1:p:41-58

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Breeta Banerjee
Author-X-Name-First: Breeta
Author-X-Name-Last: Banerjee
Author-Name: Amit Kundu
Author-X-Name-First: Amit
Author-X-Name-Last: Kundu
Title: Subjective well-being of the informal workers: an empirical study from Hooghly district of West Bengal, India
Abstract:
Based on primary data from urban and rural informal workers in Hooghly district of India, the paper attempts to explore the welfare of informal workers using the concept of subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is conceptualised through two broad dimensions-psychological well-being and life satisfaction. An individual-specific composite index is constructed to quantify subjective well-being followed by a series of regression analysis on the constructed indices. The findings suggest income to be a strong positive influencer of overall subjective well-being as well as life satisfaction and psychological well-being of informal workers. But a segregated analysis reveals that factors influencing subjective well-being distinctly differ across rural and urban workers. Rural workers tend to have higher well-being score than their urban counterpart and income does not have significant effect on their subjective well-being. Also, regular wage-earners tend to score higher in overall subjective wellbeing as well as life satisfaction than self-employed and casual labours.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 1-25
Issue: 1
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: happiness economics; subjective well-being; subjective well-being index; life satisfaction; psychological well-being; factor influencing subjective well-being; informal worker; informal workers of India; well-being of informal workers.
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:1:p:1-25

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Md. Saiful Islam
Author-X-Name-First: Md. Saiful
Author-X-Name-Last: Islam
Title: Do education and health influence economic growth and food security? Evidence from Bangladesh
Abstract:
This study aims to explore the impact of education and health on economic growth and food security (FS) in Bangladesh. It employs economic growth rate, expenditure on education as a proxy for education, expenditure on health as a proxy for health, and fertility rate, infant mortality rate and prevalence of undernourishment as proxies for FS. Descriptive statistics are used to measure the FS indices. Engle-Granger cointegration is applied to determine the long run and short run relationships among variables, using World Bank data for the period 1998-2017. Cointegration results confirm the existence of short run as well as long run positive relationships between education spending and economic growth. The findings suggest that education has a direct link with FS, which has various dimensions, including access to food; if the population are educated; they are empowered and able to access food both by market and non-market mechanisms.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 59-75
Issue: 1
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: education expenditure; health expenditure; economic growth; adult literacy rate; fertility rate; infant mortality rate; prevalence of undernourishment; food security; causality; Bangladesh.
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:1:p:59-75

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Forough Jafari
Author-X-Name-First: Forough
Author-X-Name-Last: Jafari
Title: The mediating role of self-compassion in relation between character strengths and flourishing in college students
Abstract:
The present study aims to investigate the relationship between character strengths and flourishing with the mediating role of self-compassion. The research method was structural equation modelling. The sample consisted of 376 university students between the ages of 20-30 (mean = 24.3) years old selected through cluster random sampling. Fifty-seven percent of the participants were females from the science and research branch at Azad University. The data were collected using the self-compassion scale (SCS) (Neff, 2003a), the values in action inventory of strengths (Peterson and Seligman, 2004) and the human flourishing questionnaire (HFQ) (Soleimani et al., 2015). The data was analysed using path analysis through LISREL software. The character strengths of love, gratitude and hope with the mediating role of self-compassion have an indirect effect on flourishing. According to the results, optimising character strengths (especially emotional strengths) help people to accept themselves without self-judgement and selfcriticism, which in turn improves individual flourishing.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 76-93
Issue: 1
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: positive psychology; character strengths; flourishing; self-compassion; love; gratitude; hope; college students; structural equation modelling; path analysis.
File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=108755
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:1:p:76-93

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Amritkant Mishra
Author-X-Name-First: Amritkant
Author-X-Name-Last: Mishra
Title: Quest of nexus between inflation and economic development: evidence from Asian countries
Abstract:
This empirical analysis aspires to scrutinise the nexus between economic development and inflation in Asian perspective by utilising panel dynamic ordinary least squire (OLS) and the panel Granger causality method. The outcome of the panel dynamic OLS documents that, some proxies of economic development such as electric potency, transportation, telecommunication facility as well as financial development have negative impact on inflation, however, the per capita gross domestic product has a positive impact on the general price level. On the other hand, the consequence of causality analysis unearths that, there is one-way causality running from the per capita gross domestic product to inflation. Furthermore, the current study also documents that there is no causality running from energy, transport, communication, human resource, and financial development towards inflation. The policymakers can adopt all those strategies, which substantially enhance the economic development to condense inflation.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 95-112
Issue: 2
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: inflation; economic development; panel dynamic OLS; ordinary least squire; Asian countries.
File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=111201
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:2:p:95-112

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Keon West
Author-X-Name-First: Keon
Author-X-Name-Last: West
Title: A nudity-based intervention to improve body image, self-esteem, and life satisfaction
Abstract:
An individual's body image has profound implications for their self-esteem and overall life-satisfaction, and is a significant predictor of the onset of eating disorders. Recent research suggested that nude activities improved body image, self-esteem, and life-satisfaction among participants who were predisposed to take part in such activities. This current research investigated whether a nudity-based intervention can have similar positive effects among non-nudist participants with low levels of positive body-image, and whether those effects endure. Fifteen participants completed measures of body-image, self-esteem, and life-satisfaction before, immediately after, and one month after participating in a 4-day, nudity-based intervention. Participants reported substantial improvements in all three outcomes that remained one month after the intervention's completion. Results suggest that nudity-based interventions can meaningfully and enduringly improve body image and related outcomes, even among non-nudists.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 162-172
Issue: 2
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: nudity; nakedness; naturism; body image; self-esteem; life satisfaction.
File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=111202
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:2:p:162-172

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Faisal Ahmed
Author-X-Name-First: Faisal
Author-X-Name-Last: Ahmed
Author-Name: Moaz Nagib Gharib
Author-X-Name-First: Moaz Nagib
Author-X-Name-Last: Gharib
Author-Name: Omar Durrah
Author-X-Name-First: Omar
Author-X-Name-Last: Durrah
Author-Name: Vinaytosh Mishra
Author-X-Name-First: Vinaytosh
Author-X-Name-Last: Mishra
Title: Social well-being and livelihood challenges in conflict economies: a study of Syrian citizens' perception of geopolitical fragility
Abstract:
We study the citizens' perception of geopolitical fragility and livelihood-related vulnerabilities in context of conflict economies. The case in point is of Syria, which continues to face several rudimentary socio-economic challenges owing to the ongoing conflict. We analyse 280 responses from Syrian citizens and employ statistical techniques to derive relevant findings. The findings of this study reveals that the citizen's perception of fragility in Syria differs on the basis of gender and age group. Also, the most impactful factors as perceived by the Syrian citizens include the following: mistrust in society (psycho-social factor), fear of losing the opportunity to study (social security factor), food security and crisis (livelihood factor), damaging of transport sector owing to geopolitical situation (governance factor), and, losing hope in good governance (socio-economic factor). This study can provide useful inputs for developmental interventions by policy makers and intergovernmental organisations.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 143-161
Issue: 2
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: conflict economies; Syria; citizen's perception; fragility; livelihood; geopolitics; transition economies; Arab economies; West Asia; developmental interventions.
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:2:p:143-161

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Xinxin Ma
Author-X-Name-First: Xinxin
Author-X-Name-Last: Ma
Title: Impact of the intra-household bargaining power gap on the happiness of married women in China
Abstract:
This paper evaluates the impact of the intra-household bargaining power gap on the happiness of married women in China. It uses data from the Chinese general social survey (CGSS) from 2005 to 2015. The results indicate the education gap, the income gap, and the hukou gap between wife and husband may negatively affect married women's happiness, while the age gap may positively affect married women's happiness. It is also found that the effects of the intra-household bargaining power gap on happiness are greater for working married women, the short-term marriage group, and the rural group. This suggests that an increase in the gender gap of intra-household bargaining power and work-family conflict may decrease married women's happiness in contemporary China.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 113-142
Issue: 2
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: intra-household bargaining power; happiness; married women; gender roles; China.
File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=111211
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:2:p:113-142

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Aynur Fırıncı-Kodaz
Author-X-Name-First: Aynur
Author-X-Name-Last: Fırıncı-Kodaz
Author-Name: Rumeysa Hoşoğlu
Author-X-Name-First: Rumeysa
Author-X-Name-Last: Hoşoğlu
Author-Name: Meryem Vural-Batık
Author-X-Name-First: Meryem
Author-X-Name-Last: Vural-Batık
Author-Name: Tuğba Yılmaz-Bingöl
Author-X-Name-First: Tuğba
Author-X-Name-Last: Yılmaz-Bingöl
Title: The predictive roles of positivity, forgiveness and religious attitudes on subjective happiness
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to determine the relationships among positivity, forgiveness, religious attitudes and subjective happiness on university students. The current study has been conducted in correlational design. The participants of the study consisted of 798 university students who were studying at different universities in Turkey. Participants completed the questionnaire packet including four different scales: subjective happiness scale (SHS), positivity scale (PS), forgiveness scale (FS) and Ok-religious attitude scale (ORAS). Pearson correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyse the obtained data. The results indicated that positivity and forgiveness predicted subjective happiness significantly, and collectively accounted 22% of the variance of subjective happiness. However, according to the results, religious attitude did not significantly predict subjective happiness. The results obtained from the research were discussed in a light of related literature and several suggestions were made.
Journal: Int. J. of Happiness and Development
Pages: 173-195
Issue: 2
Volume: 6
Year: 2020
Keywords: subjective happiness; positivity; forgiveness; religious attitude; positive psychology; happiness; subjective well-being; psychological well-being; positive human strength; religiosity.
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Handle: RePEc:ids:ijhdev:v:6:y:2020:i:2:p:173-195