Decoding the Happiness: Analyzing the Components of World Happiness Index

Eylül Kabakçı Günay

doi:10.26466/opusjsr.1595415

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Mutluluğun Şifresini Çözmek: Dünya Mutluluk Endeksi Bileşenlerinin Analizi

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı seçilmiş Dünya Mutluluk Endeksi bileşenlerinin mutluluk endeks değerine olan etkilerini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda 29 Avrupa ülkesinin 2019-2024 dönemine ait verileri kullanılarak mutluluğun temel belirleyicileri incelenmiş ve yatay kesit bağımlılığı ile heterojenlik de dikkate alınarak Eberhardt ve Teal’in (2010) Arttırılmış Ortalama Grup (AMG) tahmincisi uygulanmıştır. Dünya Mutluluk Endeksi ve temel bileşenleri olan logaritmik kişi başına düşen GSYH, sosyal destek ve yaşam tercihi özgürlüğü değişkenlerinden yola çıkılarak, bu faktörlerin öznel iyi oluş üzerindeki bireysel ve birleşik etkileri analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular, söz konusu ülkeler genel düzeyinde sosyal destekteki bir birimlik artışın mutluluk endeksini 0.84 birim artırdığını göstermiştir; buna karşın gelir ve özgürlük değişkenleri istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmamıştır. Ülke bazlı sonuçlar ise farklılık göstermektedir. Örneğin, Avusturya, İzlanda ve Hollanda’da gelirdeki artış mutluluk endeks değerini azaltmaktadır. Bu yönüyle analiz sonuçları söz konusu ülkeler için AMG sonuçları, yüksek gelirli bazı ülkelerde artan gelirin azalan mutlulukla ilişkili olduğunu ortaya koyarak Easterlin Paradoksu’nu desteklemektedir. Sosyal destek ve hayata dair karar alma özgürlükleri ise Estonya,Fransa,İzlanda,İrlanda,Letonya, Hollanda, Romanya, Slovakya ve Türkiye’de mutluluk endeksi üzerinde olumlu etkiye sahiptir. Çalışma bu bağlamda yenilik getirmekte , öznel iyi oluşun yalnızca ekonomik büyüme ile değil, sosyal ve kurumsal dinamiklerle şekillendiğini ortaya koymakta ve yaşam memnuniyetini artırmaya yönelik bağlama özgü, çok boyutlu politika çerçevelerinin önemini vurgulamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Mutluluk , Dünya Mutluluk Endeksi , Mutluluk Bileşenleri , Arttırılmış Ortalama Grup Tahmincisi

Decoding the Happiness: Analyzing the Components of World Happiness Index

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the effects of selected World Happiness Index components on the happiness index value. Thus, the study investigates effect of log GDP per capita, social support, and freedom to make life choices on happiness index across 29 European countries using panel data from 2019 to 2024 and applies the Eberhardt&Teal’s (2010) Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator to account for cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. Results show that, at the European aggregate level, a one-unit increase in social support is associated with an increase of 0.84 in the Happiness Index, while GDP and freedom yield statistically insignificant effects. However, country-specific findings vary. For instance, Austria, Iceland and the Netherlands show significant negative effects of increasing income on Happiness Index. Thus for these countries the AMG results support the Easterlin Paradox in several high-income nations, where increased income correlates with decreased happiness. Social Support and Fredom to make life choice has positive effect on happiness for Estonia, France, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia and Türkiye. The study concludes that subjective well-being is shaped more by social and institutional dynamics than by economic growth alone, highlighting the importance of context-specific and multidimensional policy frameworks in improving life satisfaction.

Keywords

Happiness , World Happiness Index , Components of Happiness , Augmented Mean Group Estimator

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Social Justice , Regional Development and Globalisation in Social Policy , Social Policy (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Eylül Kabakçı Günay ^*
0000-0001-5547-4316
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

July 27, 2025

Publication Date

August 4, 2025

Submission Date

December 3, 2024

Acceptance Date

July 14, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 22 Number: 4

DOI

https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.1595415

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA29FJ72MF

APA

Kabakçı Günay, E. (2025). Decoding the Happiness: Analyzing the Components of World Happiness Index. OPUS Journal of Society Research, 22(4), 567-579. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.1595415

Mutluluğun Şifresini Çözmek: Dünya Mutluluk Endeksi Bileşenlerinin Analizi

Öz

Anahtar Kelimeler

Decoding the Happiness: Analyzing the Components of World Happiness Index

Abstract

Keywords

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Early Pub Date

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

DOI

IZ

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