Alternative Values-Based 'Recipes' for Life Satisfaction: German Results with an Australian Replication

Arbeitspapier

In most research on Life Satisfaction (LS), it is assumed that the covariates of high and low LS are the same for everyone, or at least everyone in the West. In this paper, analysing data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, with a limited replication based on Australian panel data, we estimate models of alternative ‘recipes’ for LS. There appear to be at least four distinct ‘recipes’, which are primarily based on the values of different population sub-sets. These values are: altruistic values, family values, materialistic values and religious values. By a ‘recipe’ for LS we mean a linked set of values, behavioural choices and domain satisfactions, which appear to be held together by a person’s values, and which prove to have substantial effects on LS. Our German and Australian evidence indicates that individuals who follow recipes based on altruistic, family or religious values record above average long term LS, whereas the materialistic values ‘recipe’ is associated with below average LS.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 7234

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Quantitative Policy Modeling ; Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: General ; Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
• Subject: life satisfaction ; alternative recipes ; values/life priorities ; behavioural choices ; domain satisfactions ; panel data ; SOEP

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Headey, Bruce ; Wagner, Gert G.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2018

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/185432
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET