Social capital and life satisfaction in Switzerland

被引:3
作者
Lucchini, Mario [1 ]
Della Bella, Sara [2 ,3 ]
Crivelli, Luca [2 ,3 ]
机构
[1] Univ Milano Bicocca, Dept Sociol & Social Res, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1, I-20126 Milan, Italy
[2] Univ Appl Sci & Arts Southern Switzerland, Dept Business Econ Hlth & Social Care, CH-6928 Manno, Switzerland
[3] Univ Svizzera Italiana, CH-6900 Lugano, Switzerland
关键词
life satisfaction; happiness; social capital; fixed and random effects; Swiss Household Panel; SHP;
D O I
10.1504/IJHD.2015.072186
中图分类号
C [社会科学总论];
学科分类号
03 ; 0303 ;
摘要
This paper investigates the causal relationship running from some crucial social capital indicators to life satisfaction using linear panel data models (fixed-effects, random effects) on data coming from 12 waves (19992012) of Swiss Household Panel (SHP). The positive association between indicators of social capital - particularly trust with people, friendships, participation in voluntary associations - and life satisfaction has been widely proven in the literature although most of these studies adopt standard regression models and cross-sectional data leading to spurious conclusion. The panel nature and the rich information provided in the SHP allows to control for time constant unobserved characteristics, such as personality traits, and for most covariates that have been proven to influence life satisfaction. Overall, this study suggests that informal relationships and trust are the most important social capital indicators in terms of their effects on life satisfaction. Gender related differences are also apparent, in that the emotional support received from relatives or friends is a far better predictor of life satisfaction for women than for men.
引用
收藏
页码:250 / 268
页数:19
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