Title: Factors associated with farm household happiness: an analysis from Western and Eastern Indonesia

Authors: Zainal Mutaqin; Yessica C.Y. Chung; Noxolo Kunene

Addresses: International Master's Program of Agribusiness Management, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Shuefu Road, Neipu Township, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan ' Department of Agribusiness Management, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Shuefu Road, Neipu township, Pingtung, City, 91201, Taiwan ' Department of Agribusiness Management, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Shuefu Road, Neipu township, Pingtung, City, 91201, Taiwan

Abstract: Indonesians are moderately happy, and many empirical studies have examined the determining factors. However, little is known about the happiness of farmers in the country. This study addresses this issue by using a large-scale survey consisting of 13,271 individuals living in farm households that are nested in 432 communities in Western and Eastern Indonesia. An ordered logistic regression was applied to examine individual, household, and community characteristics that are associated with farmers' happiness. The study shows that farmers' happiness is highly associated with individual characteristics and that farmers in Eastern Indonesia are more satisfied with their lives than their western counterparts. It is concluded that being Javanese and ideally owning a house in Western Indonesia is positively associated with farmers' happiness. Meanwhile, the active presence of traditional markets in communities in Eastern Indonesia has a positive and significant relationship with farmers' happiness.

Keywords: farmers' happiness; community-level factors; agricultural infrastructure; Western Indonesia; Eastern Indonesia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHD.2022.127633

International Journal of Happiness and Development, 2022 Vol.7 No.3, pp.243 - 264

Received: 20 Apr 2021
Accepted: 04 Nov 2021
Published online: 13 Dec 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article