Table 2. Within-Country Ordered Probit Regressions of Subjective Well-Being on Income
|
Survey |
Without controls |
With |
Instrumental |
Sample size |
|
Gallup World Poll, 2006 |
■**0.321*** |
■*0.318*** |
^■*0.592*** |
102,583 |
|
Ladder question |
(0.005) |
(0.005) |
(0.014) |
(113 countries) |
|
World Values Survey: Life satisfaction | ||||
|
1981-84 wave |
***0.167*** |
***0.199*** |
n.a. |
12,198 |
|
(0.019) |
(0.022) |
(10 countries) | ||
|
1989-93 wave |
***0.130*** |
***0.153*** |
0.001 |
32,371 |
|
(0.011) |
(0.011) |
(0.041) |
(26 countries) | |
|
1994-99 wave |
***0.225*** |
***0.243*** |
***0.233*** |
11,924 |
|
(0.012) |
(0.013) |
(0.021) |
(9 countries) | |
|
1999-2004 wave |
***0.277*** |
***0.286*** |
***0.305*** |
60,988 |
|
(0.007) |
(0.007) |
(0.018) |
(52 countries) | |
|
Combined, with country |
***0.232*** |
***0.249*** |
***0.258*** |
117,481 |
|
× wave fixed effects |
(0.007) |
(0.007) |
(0.013) |
(62 countries) |
|
World Values Survey: Happiness | ||||
|
1981-84 wave |
***0.324*** |
***0.281*** |
n.a. |
12,021 |
|
(0.021) |
(0.023) |
(10 countries) | ||
|
1989-93 wave |
***0.198*** |
***0.188*** |
0.064 |
31,475 |
|
(0.012) |
(0.013) |
(0.047) |
(26 countries) | |
|
1994-99 wave |
***0.208*** |
***0.209*** |
***0.269*** |
13,176 |
|
(0.013) |
(0.013) |
(0.022) |
(10 countries) | |
|
1999-2004 wave |
***0.259*** |
***0.248*** |
***0.292*** |
60,627 |
|
(0.008) |
(0.008) |
(0.020) |
(52 countries) | |
|
Combined, with country |
***0.244*** |
***0.234*** |
***0.266*** |
117,299 |
|
× wave fixed effects |
(0.008) |
(0.008) |
(0.015) |
(62 countries) |
|
Pew Global Attitudes Survey, 2002: |
***0.320*** |
***0.324*** |
***0.451*** |
32,463 |
|
Ladder question |
(0.008) |
(0.008) |
(0.016) |
(43 countries) |
Notes: Table reports results of ordered probit regressions of the indicated measure of well-being on log household income, controlling
for country fixed effects or country × wave fixed effects where noted. See the notes to table 1 for wording of survey questions.
Observations are weighted to give equal weight to each country × wave. Numbers in parentheses are robust standard errors, clustered
by country. Asterisks indicate statistical significance at the *10 percent, **5 percent, and ***1 percent level.
Controls: include sex, a quartic in age, and their interaction, and indicators for missing age or sex.
Instrumental variables regression: The first stage instruments for log household income using indicator variables for levels of
education, entered separately for each country, controlling for a quartic in age, interacted with gender, and country fixed effects. The
second stage is an ordered probit regression of well-being on the predicted values, the residuals, the same controls, and country fixed
effects.
Samples size: Samples are restricted to observations with valid household income data, from nationally representative samples (see
appendix B). Instrumental variables regressions are further restricted to those countries with valid education data, which further
restricts the World Values Survey samples, as valid education data were available for zero, then three, ten, and fifty-two countries in
successive waves.
Tables—2