The role of social capital in subjective quality of life
Abstract This paper investigates the role of social capital (SC) in subjective quality of life to address the limitations of existing observable indicators as evidence for public policy. We use a large-scale survey of 100,956 respondents across 37 countries, including both developed and less develop...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2023-01-01
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Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01502-7 |
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author | Janaki Imbulana Arachchi Shunsuke Managi |
author_facet | Janaki Imbulana Arachchi Shunsuke Managi |
author_sort | Janaki Imbulana Arachchi |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Abstract This paper investigates the role of social capital (SC) in subjective quality of life to address the limitations of existing observable indicators as evidence for public policy. We use a large-scale survey of 100,956 respondents across 37 countries, including both developed and less developed countries. The empirical results suggest that higher SC is more strongly associated with better subjective health and higher satisfaction in low-income countries than in high-income countries. Moreover, while low-income countries show a lower level of perceived economic inequality at the community level with higher SC, high-income countries present a higher level. We further find that higher levels of educational attainment increase the perception of economic inequality and that this impact decreases with SC. Enhancing SC may lead to improved quality of life in most low-income countries, and lifestyle and cultural factors also play a crucial role. These findings indicate that noneconomic factors underpin better lives, and further research is needed to address the social aspects of life. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:43:58Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-3e9488c5f4c54d6b9752eda6737da3c4 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2662-9992 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:43:58Z |
publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
publisher | Springer Nature |
record_format | Article |
series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
spelling | doaj.art-3e9488c5f4c54d6b9752eda6737da3c42023-01-29T12:06:57ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922023-01-0110111010.1057/s41599-023-01502-7The role of social capital in subjective quality of lifeJanaki Imbulana Arachchi0Shunsuke Managi1Urban institute, Kyushu UniversityUrban institute, Kyushu UniversityAbstract This paper investigates the role of social capital (SC) in subjective quality of life to address the limitations of existing observable indicators as evidence for public policy. We use a large-scale survey of 100,956 respondents across 37 countries, including both developed and less developed countries. The empirical results suggest that higher SC is more strongly associated with better subjective health and higher satisfaction in low-income countries than in high-income countries. Moreover, while low-income countries show a lower level of perceived economic inequality at the community level with higher SC, high-income countries present a higher level. We further find that higher levels of educational attainment increase the perception of economic inequality and that this impact decreases with SC. Enhancing SC may lead to improved quality of life in most low-income countries, and lifestyle and cultural factors also play a crucial role. These findings indicate that noneconomic factors underpin better lives, and further research is needed to address the social aspects of life.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01502-7 |
spellingShingle | Janaki Imbulana Arachchi Shunsuke Managi The role of social capital in subjective quality of life Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
title | The role of social capital in subjective quality of life |
title_full | The role of social capital in subjective quality of life |
title_fullStr | The role of social capital in subjective quality of life |
title_full_unstemmed | The role of social capital in subjective quality of life |
title_short | The role of social capital in subjective quality of life |
title_sort | role of social capital in subjective quality of life |
url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01502-7 |
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