Pursuit of Happiness in Consumer Society: A Study on OECD Countries and Türkiye

Year 2024, Volume: 18 Issue: 1, 60 - 71, 26.07.2024

İlknur Külekçi

https://doi.org/10.46520/bddkdergisi.1525915

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between societal consumption desires and happiness levels contributes
to the development of economic policies aimed at enhancing welfare. Therefore, this study, which
investigates the relationship between consumption and happiness, consists of two stages. In the first
stage, the happiness of economic units is measured by the Happiness Index, and consumption data is
represented by the ratio of household disposable income to expenditures as provided by the OECD.
Granger Causality Analysis was applied to data from 30 OECD countries, including Turkey, with continuous
data availability for the period 2018-2021. The findings indicate no significant causality relationship. In the
second stage, the relationship between consumption desires and happiness of economic units in Turkey
was investigated using simple regression analysis. The results suggest that a 1% increase in consumption
leads to an approximate 0,00287 unit decrease in happiness, indicating that an increase in the propensity
to consume is associated with a decline in happiness levels. Consequently, this study finds no causality
between happiness and consumption in OECD countries, while in Turkey, societal consumption desires
negatively impact happiness. The findings are expected to contribute depth to the existing literature.

Keywords

Happiness, Consumption, Granger causality analysis, Regression analysis

Tüketim Toplumunda Mutluluğun Peşinde: OECD Ülkeleri ve Türkiye Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Toplumun tüketim isteği ile mutluluk düzeyi arasındaki ilişkinin anlaşılması, refah seviyesini yükseltmeye
yönelik ekonomi politikalarının geliştirilmesine katkı sağlayacaktır. Bu nedenle tüketim ve mutluluk
arasındaki ilişkinin araştırıldığı bu çalışma iki aşamadan oluşmaktadır. Birinci aşamada ekonomik birimlerin
mutlululuğu Mutluluk Endeksi, tüketim verileri ise OECD tarafından açıklanan hanehalkının harcanabilir
gelirinin harcamalarına olan oranı kullanılarak Granger Nedensellik Analizi uygulanmıştır. Kesintisiz verilerine
ulaşılabilen Türkiye dahil olmak üzere 30 adet OECD ülkesinin, 2018-2021 dönemi esas alınmış ve anlamlı
bir nedensellik ilişkisi olmadığı görülmüştür. İkinci aşamada Türkiye’deki ekonomik birimlerin tüketim isteği
ile mutlulukları arasındaki ilişki basit regresyon yöntemiyle araştırılmış ve tüketimdeki %1'lik bir artış için
mutluluğun yaklaşık 0,00287 birim azalışa neden olurken, tüketim eğiliminin artması durumunda mutluluk
düzeyinin azaldığı görülmüştür. Sonuç olarak bu çalışmada OECD ülkelerinin mutluluğu ve tüketimi arasında
nedensellik ilişkisine rastlanmazken ve Türkiye’de toplumun tüketim isteğinin mutluluğunu negatif yönde
etkilediği tespit edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulguların literatüre derinlik katması beklenmektedir.

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