Happiness, Well Being and Community Development

1 happiness , well Being and Community Development Rhonda Phillips, PhD Arizona State University Eric S Trevan Arizona State University Erika Sung Arizona State University happiness , well Being and Community Development Interchangeable with well Being and Quality of Life Relationship with Income/Wealth (National and Individual) Foundation of happiness Discussion in Economic Development / Community Development Case Studies As Conversation happiness is a mental or emotional state of wellbeing characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. (Deiner, 2000) happiness , well Being and Community Development The economics of happiness or happiness economics is the quantitative and theoretical study of happiness , positive and negative affect, well Being , quality of life, life satisfaction and related concepts, typically combining economies with other fields such as psychology and sociology (Graham, 2008) happiness Measures Not income and profit Methods developed to determine impact on happiness Self Reporting and Index Development Quality of Life and well Being are interchangeable with happiness (Foroohar, 2007) happiness , well Being and Community Development Presentation Focus happiness with Economic Development for Community Development Framework for Community Development (Perkins, et al.)

2 , 2004) Economic Political Social Physical Environmental Components Is there a relationship? Strongest City Economies (Milken Institute, 2011) San Antonio, TX El Paso, TX Fort Collins, CO Austin, TX Killen TX Happiest Cities (Gallup, 2011 ) Boulder, CO Lincoln, NE Fort Collins, CO Provo, UT Honolulu, HI happiness , well Being and Community Development 1972 Gross National happiness (The Centre for Bhutan Studies, 2001) Bhutan s Fourth Dragon King Jigme Singye Wanchick Signal his commitment to building an economy Define an indicator that measures quality of life or social progress More holistic and psychological terms than only the economic indicator of gross domestic product (GDP). Serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values 1974 Easterlin Paradox (Easterlin, 1974) Key concept in happiness economics Factors contributing to happiness Higher income people more likely to report happiness Internationally did not show much impact (for nations meeting basic needs) US 1946-1970 income rose, however no long term happiness trend 1960-1970 happiness , well Being and Community Development 1997 Self Rated happiness (Oswald, 1997) Several measures of happiness show casual relations to income Once basic needs are met, public policy should show focus on increasing life satisfaction If income impacts well Being then goal should be extremely high economic growth Relationship to Gross National happiness 2003 International happiness Impact From Income (Hagerty, Veenhoven, 2003)

3 Countries did indeed get happier with increasing income Easterlin maintained his position, suggesting that his critics were using inadequate data Uses longer time series data, increased nations (wealthy and poor) Short term impact on happiness is higher than long term impact happiness , well Being and Community Development 2008 Expanded Time Series Analysis (Stevenson, Wolfers, 2008) Reassessed Easterlin Data with time series data Clear linkages between income and self reported happiness happiness increases more slowly than income No saturation point with different rates of growth Easterlin published data reaffirming the paradox-sample of 37 countries (Easterlin et al., 2010) 2012 Other Variables Are Determinants of happiness (Clark et al., 2012) Income as well as Political freedom, strong social networks and an absence of corruption positively impact happiness Happier countries tend to be richer countries. Unemployment causes as much unhappiness as bereavement or separation.

4 Behaving well makes people happier. Mental health is the biggest single factor affecting happiness in any country Stable family life and enduring marriages are important for the happiness happiness , well Being and Community Development 2012 UK began to measure national wellbeing in 2012 ( , 2013) 2013 At Estonia's Bank Of happiness , Kindness Is The Currency- July 18, 2013 (NPR, 2013) Bank of happiness Founded 2008 Doesn't involve money or credit 2000 individuals provide free services Provides 500 ads of services Seattle will be the firs city in United States to measure Gross National happiness (Large, 2012) City Council President Richard Conlin asked Vancouver Health Authority Michael Pennock to provide presentation Seattle Sunny Side Up Community Meeting Community Committees are formed happiness City Campaign forms small groups happiness , well Being and Community Development Kim, Sarang, Sargent-Cox, Kerry A, French, Davina J, Kendig, Hal, Anstey, Kaarin J, (2012) Cross National insights into the relationship between wealth and well Being : a comparison between Australia, the United States of America and South Korea, Ageing and Society, Volume 32, Issue 1 Sample United States, Australia, South Korea Sources Nationally Represented Surveys Variables Wealth Satisfaction and objective wealth/income and wellbeing( self rated and life satisfaction index/dependent) Methodology Cross National Study, Regression Results Significant (.)

5 Wealth Satisfaction associated with well Being ; above monetary wealth in all countries-all significant Income positively affects well Being (self rated) Income positively affects life satisfaction (index) happiness , well Being and Community Development Dipietro, William R., Anoruo, Emmanuel (2006), GDP per capita and its challengers as measures of happiness , 33:10, p. 698-709. Sample 43 Nations Sources GDP (World Development Indicators-World Bank), Human Development Index-(United Nations-income, life expect, education), World Value Survey 2007(University of Michigan- happiness Level, 1-4) Variables GDP per capita (dependent) and Human Development Index (UN Index) happiness /wellbeing (self rated) Methodology Cross Country Regression Results Significant(.001) Human Development Index (HDI) has negative impact on GDP per capita World Value Survey has positive impact on GDP per capita happiness , well Being and Community Development Dipietro, William R.

6 (2009), happiness and Economic Progress: A Perspective, Business Renaissance Quarterly, p. 81-92. Sample 65 Nations Sources World Value Survey 2007-University of Michigan Variables happiness (World Value Survey, dependent) GDP (1999-2003) and Annual Growth Rates of per capita GDP (1999-2003) Methodology Cross Country Regression Results Significant (.001) GDP positive impact on happiness Process of economic growth negative relationship to happiness happiness , well Being and Community Development Limitations Possible political motivations for results Liberal versus Conservative Estimates True Impact of happiness on Community Identification of steps to achieve happiness Increase in income not affecting happiness nullified by other trends in society divorce, crime, drug-use, and loss of Community Equality of happiness not equally distributed Race Gender Income Trends happiness grows slower than income levels Other factors lead to happiness No clear direction, there is a relationship, but what direction Ongoing research necessary, but platform is established to move forward Current ongoing dialogue July 15-Time Magazine.

7 The Pursuit of happiness July 18-Bank of happiness Next Steps Explore in more depth the connection between Community vitality and perceptions of happiness and Community well - Being Seek to measure impact on happiness as well as impact Combine with other measures of Community Development Frameworks Select several cases, based on similar size, to compare and contrast conditions happiness , well Being and Community Development Thank you! Eric S Trevan PhD Student, Community Resources and Development Partnership for Community Development Arizona State University