Detailed analyses of poverty and wellbeing in developing countries, based on household surveys, have been ongoing for more than three decades. The large majority of developing countries now regularly ...conduct a variety of household surveys, and their information base with respect to poverty and wellbeing has improved dramatically. Nevertheless, appropriate measurement of poverty remains complex and controversial. This is particularly true in developing countries where (i) the stakes with respect to poverty reduction are high; (ii) the determinants of living standards are often volatile; and (iii) related information bases, while much improved, are often characterized by significant non-sample error. It also remains, to a surprisingly high degree, an activity undertaken by technical assistance personnel and consultants based in developed countries. This book seeks to enhance the transparency, replicability, and comparability of existing practice. It also aims to significantly lower the barriers to entry to the conduct of rigorous poverty measurement and increase the participation of analysts from developing countries in their own poverty assessments. The book focuses on two domains: the measurement of absolute consumption poverty and a first-order dominance approach to multidimensional welfare analysis. In each domain, it provides a series of computer codes designed to facilitate analysis by allowing the analyst to start from a flexible and known base. The volume covers the theoretical grounding for the code streams provided, a chapter on ‘estimation in practice’, a series of eleven case studies where the code streams are operationalized, a synthesis, an extension to inequality, and a look forward.
•Panel quantile regressions are estimated to examine the determinants of happiness.•Asymmetric effects of positive and negative income changes on happiness are examined.•Loss aversion is found with ...respect to relative income.•No evidence for loss aversion is detected with respect to income changes at the mean.•The happiness of the least happy is affected more by income losses than gains.
This paper examines the distributional effects of the determinants of happiness by applying quantile regression techniques to panel data for Japan. The key question examined in the paper is whether we observe an asymmetry between the effects of positive and negative changes on individual happiness, and if it exists, whether it is observed uniformly across the happiness distribution. Such an asymmetry is referred to as “loss aversion” in prospect theory. Loss aversion effects are analyzed with respect to relative income as well as expected and actual income changes. We find that feeling relatively poor has a greater negative effect on happiness than the positive effect of feeling relatively rich, i.e., losses bite more than gains. Moreover, the degree of loss aversion with respect to relative income was found to increase as we move down the happiness distribution. However, no evidence of loss aversion is detected with respect to income changes at the mean, though the happiness of relatively unhappy people is found to be affected more by losses than by equivalent gains.
This paper presents a new model of gratitude incorporating not only the gratitude that arises following help from others but also a habitual focusing on and appreciating the positive aspects of ...life", incorporating not only the gratitude that arises following help from others, but also a habitual focusing on and appreciating the positive aspects of life. Research into individual differences in gratitude and well-being is reviewed, including gratitude and psychopathology, personality, relationships, health, subjective and eudemonic well-being, and humanistically orientated functioning. Gratitude is strongly related to well-being, however defined, and this link may be unique and causal. Interventions to clinically increase gratitude are critically reviewed, and concluded to be promising, although the positive psychology literature may have neglected current limitations, and a distinct research strategy is suggested. Finally, mechanisms whereby gratitude may relate to well-being are discussed, including schematic biases, coping, positive affect, and broaden-and-build principles. Gratitude is relevant to clinical psychology due to (a) strong explanatory power in understanding well-being, and (b) the potential of improving well-being through fostering gratitude with simple exercises.
In this study, we developed a chatbot that gives advice for improving well-being and obtained basic knowledge about its well-being improving effect. In the design of the chatbot, we derived advice ...candidates from behaviors that are highly correlated with well-being based on a questionnaire survey. In the quantitative survey, the chatbot gave advice 172 verification subjects 13 times from the derived advice candidates. As a result, we confirmed that the group that executed a lot of contents of the advice improved the well-being level compared to the group that executed few ones.
In this study, we developed a chatbot that gives advice for improving well-being and obtained basic knowledge about its well-being improving effect. In the design of the chatbot, we derived advice ...candidates from behaviors that are highly correlated with well-being based on a questionnaire survey. In the quantitative survey, the chatbot gave advice 172 verification subjects 13 times from the derived advice candidates. As a result, we confirmed that the group that executed a lot of contents of the advice improved the well-being level compared to the group that executed few ones.
The authors of this study examined the relation between job demands and psychological detachment from work during off-job time (i.e., mentally switching off) with psychological well-being and work ...engagement. They hypothesized that high job demands and low levels of psychological detachment predict poor well-being and low work engagement. They proposed that psychological detachment buffers the negative impact of high job demands on well-being and work engagement. A longitudinal study (12-month time lag) with 309 human service employees showed that high job demands predicted emotional exhaustion, psychosomatic complaints, and low work engagement over time. Psychological detachment from work during off-job time predicted emotional exhaustion and buffered the relation between job demands and an increase in psychosomatic complaints and between job demands and a decrease in work engagement. The findings of this study suggest that psychological detachment from work during off-job time is an important factor that helps to protect employee well-being and work engagement.
Capsule: Neighbourhood greenness may benefit mental health by decreasing air pollution.
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•NDVI and streetscape greenery (SVG) were used to assess greenness exposure, and trees ...(SVG-tree) and grasses (SVG-grass) were distinguished.•Both objective (PM2.5 and NO2) and subjective (perceived air pollution) measures were used to quantify air pollution exposure.•NDVI, SVG-tree and SVG-grass were positively associated with psychological well-being.•The SVG-mental health association was mediated by ambient PM2.5, NO2 and perceived air pollution in parallel mediation models.•The SVG-mental health association was mediated by ambient PM2.5-perceived air pollution and NO2-perceived air pollution in serial mediation models.•Neither measures of air pollution mediated the association between NDVI and psychological well-being.
China’s rapid urbanization has led to an increasing level of exposure to air pollution and a decreasing level of exposure to vegetation among urban populations. Both trends may pose threats to psychological well-being. Previous studies on the interrelationships among greenness, air pollution and psychological well-being rely on exposure measures from remote sensing data, which may fail to accurately capture how people perceive vegetation on the ground. To address this research gap, this study aimed to explore relationships among neighbourhood greenness, air pollution exposure and psychological well-being, using survey data on 1029 adults residing in 35 neighbourhoods in Guangzhou, China. We used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and streetscape greenery (SVG) to assess greenery exposure at the neighbourhood level, and we distinguished between trees (SVG-tree) and grasses (SVG-grass) when generating streetscape greenery exposure metrics. We used two objective (PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations) measures and one subjective (perceived air pollution) measure to quantify air pollution exposure. We quantified psychological well-being using the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Results from multilevel structural equation models (SEM) showed that, for parallel mediation models, while the association between SVG-grass and psychological well-being was completely mediated by perceived air pollution and NO2, the relationship between SVG-tree and psychological well-being was completely mediated by ambient PM2.5, NO2 and perceived air pollution. None of three air pollution indicators mediated the association between psychological well-being and NDVI. For serial mediation models, measures of air pollution did not mediate the relationship between NDVI and psychological well-being. While the linkage between SVG-grass and psychological well-being scores was partially mediated by NO2-perceived air pollution, SVG-tree was partially mediated by both ambient PM2.5-perceived air pollution and NO2-perceived air pollution. Our results suggest that street trees may be more related to lower air pollution levels and better mental health than grasses are.
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