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Happiness and Social Capital: Evidence from Latin American Countries

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Handbook of Happiness Research in Latin America

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life ((IHQL))

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to analyze the impact of the three dimensions of social capital (social networks, social trust and social norms) on the happiness of 18 countries in Latin America during the period 2000–2010. This study has found evidence that (i) social relations and participation in voluntary organizations increase the happiness of individuals, (ii) individuals who generally trust in others and in institutions tend to be more satisfied with life than average and (iii) those individuals who meet social norms, are aware of their obligations and are engaged in favor of their community present higher levels of subjective well-being.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See, among others, Argyle (1999); Helliwell and Putnam (2004); Senik (2004); Seligman (2005); Ahn et al. (2012).

  2. 2.

    For a detailed description of the model, see, among others, Chapter 15 of Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data by Wooldridge (2002).

  3. 3.

    In the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, the sample is weighted with respect to stratum; in Chile it is weighted with respect to age, sex, educational level and geographical area; in Argentina with respect to sex and age; in Colombia with respect to age, sex, educational level and size of habitat; in Paraguay with respect to type of area, and in Venezuela, it is weighted with respect to sex and educational level. In Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay, the sample is not weighted. More details are also provided by the Methodology Report (Latinobarometro 2000–2010).

  4. 4.

    We use the method of Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to calculate the index. The first principal component is used to derive the weights. This methodology has been used in the paper by Ateca-Amestoy et al. (2011) to calculate the Social Capital Bridging Index.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Mochón Morcillo & Rebeca de Juan Díaz

Authors
  1. Francisco Mochón Morcillo
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  2. Rebeca de Juan Díaz
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Correspondence to Francisco Mochón Morcillo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FLACSO-Mexico & UPAEP, Mexico City, Mexico

    Mariano Rojas

Appendix

Appendix

Table 9.5 Distribution of the sample per country during the period 2000–2010
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Table 9.6 Summary and statistics of the variables employed in regression
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Table 9.7 Determinants of life satisfaction in Latin American countries
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Mochón Morcillo, F., de Juan Díaz, R. (2016). Happiness and Social Capital: Evidence from Latin American Countries. In: Rojas, M. (eds) Handbook of Happiness Research in Latin America. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7203-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7203-7_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

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  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-7203-7

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