People living in countries with governments that spend more on social services report being more contented, according to a Baylor University study.
“The effect of state intervention into the economy equals or exceeds marriage or employment status — two traditional predictors of happiness — when it comes to satisfaction,” said Patrick Flavin, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences.
The study — “Assessing the Impact of the Size and Scope of Government on Human Well-Being” — is published in the journal Social Forces. The researchers analyzed data from 21 advanced industrialized countries collected by the World Values Survey from 1981 to 2007, with nearly 50,000 respondents. CONT.
Baylor University