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Is It Culture or Democracy? The Impact of Democracy and Culture on Happiness

Dorn, David ; Fischer, Justina ; Kirchgässner, Gebhard ; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso

In: Social Indicators Research, 2007, vol. 82, no. 3, p. 505-526

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    Title
    • Is It Culture or Democracy? The Impact of Democracy and Culture on Happiness
    Author
    • Dorn, David. FAA-HSG, University of St. Gallen, Guisanstrasse 92, 9010, St. Gallen, Switzerland
    • Fischer, Justina. LSE-STICERD, London School of Economics, London, United Kingdom
    • Kirchgässner, Gebhard. SIAW-HSG, CESifo and Leopoldina, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
    • Sousa-Poza, Alfonso. FAA-HSG, University of St. Gallen, Guisanstrasse 92, 9010, St. Gallen, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:312108
    Summary
    We analyze the relation between democracy and perceived subjective well-being while controlling for other relevant determinants such as culture measured by languages. We conduct a cross-national analysis covering 28 countries using data from the 1998 International Social Survey Programme. Contrasting existing empirical evidence, we observe a significant positive relationship between democracy and happiness even when controlling for income and culture measured by language and religion. The effect of democracy on happiness is stronger in countries with an established democratic tradition