CONTEXTUALIZING WELL-BEING: A CROSS-NATIONAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIOECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF HAPPINESS

Abstract

The socioeconomic determinants of happiness in cross-national context, with emphasis on the contextual factors in influencing subjective well-being. The analysis incorporates important indicators, including GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom, institutional trust, and generosity, based on secondary data based on globally comparable happiness datasets. The methodology is quantitative, which includes the descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression modeling to determine the relative impact of these variables on the outcome of happiness by country. The results indicate that the strongest predictors of happiness are economic prosperity and social support, with health, freedom and institutional trust also being significant. The results also show that happiness does not directly depend only on the level of income but is affected by a set of social and institutional factors. The cross-national differences indicate the significance of contextual factors, which imply that countries with similar economic backgrounds might have dissimilar well-being results because of disparities in social cohesion and governance frameworks. The research adds to the existing literature on well-being because it offers a multidimensional approach that incorporates economic, social, and institutional factors. It also provides policy-relevant information, underlining the importance of comprehensive strategies to enhance the quality of life.