Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Happiness and Social Capital in India

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Cultural Basis of Economic Growth in India

Part of the book series: Creative Economy ((CRE))

Abstract

Numerous studies have examined happiness in Europe, America, and East Asia, but few studies have focused on developing countries. Furthermore, it was found that social capital is an important determinant of happiness in happiness studies. Therefore, this study aims to examine happiness and how it relates to social capital in India. Most studies about India were small-scale and used data limited to demographic conditions (e.g., women, rural, urban, the elderly). The present chapter examines nationwide data and broad demographic conditions as well as social capital, which is important but has not yet been considered in an Indian happiness study. The analysis confirms that our results fit the usual patterns that are found in the happiness literature. However, there are some specific findings in the case of India. For example, there is no significant education–happiness relationship in the estimation. Happiness had a positive and statistically significant correlation with top-level managers, executives, and the self-employed. Social capital had a strong positive correlation with happiness. Our results clearly confirmed the presence of a positive relationship between social capital and happiness. In that sense, social capital was a big predictor of happiness. Finally, we estimated the determinants of social capital.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Veenhoven (2012) , Happiness in India (IN), World Database of Happiness, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Viewed on 2019–03-04 at http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl.

  2. 2.

    Szreter and Woolcock (2004). This paper also introduced linking social capital, which describes relationships across individuals who occupy different statuses of power within a social hierarchy.

  3. 3.

    See Dawson (2017).

  4. 4.

    Viewed on 2019/09/05 at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD?locations=IN.

  5. 5.

    Stutzer and Frey (2006).

  6. 6.

    Ghosh, Lahiri and Datta (2017, p. 123).

  7. 7.

    Glaeser et al. (2002), p. F454.

References

  • AgĂ©nor, Richard, P., & Dinh, H. T. (2013). Social capital, product imitation and growth with learning externalities. Policy research working paper 6607, World Bank, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal, J., Murthy, P., Philip, M., Mehrotra, S., Thennarasu, K., John, J. P., Girish, N., Thippeswamy, V., & Isaac M. (2011). Socio-demographic correlates of subjective well-being in urban India, Social Indicators Research, 101(3), 419–434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Albouy, D. (2008). Are big cities really bad places to live? Improving quality-of-life estimates across cities, NBER Working Paper 14472.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersson, P. (2008). Happiness and health: Well-being among the self-employed. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 37, 213–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartels, M. (2015). Genetics of wellbeing and its components satisfaction with life, happiness, and quality of life: A review and meta-analysis of heritability studies, Behavior Genetics, 45(2), 137–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartolini, S., Bilancini, E., & Sarracino. (2016). Social capital predicts happiness over time. In S. Bartolini, E. L. Bilancini, L.Bruni, & P. L. Porta (Eds.), Policies for happiness (pp. 175–198) Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benz, M., & Frey, B. S. (2004). Being independent raises happiness at work. Swedish Economic Policy Review, 12, 97–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beugelsdijk, S., & Smulders, S. (2009). Bonding and bridging social capital and economic growth, SSRN working paper, (2009–27).

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanchflower, D. G., & Oswald, A. J. (2004). Well-being over time in Britain and the USA. Journal of Public Economics, 88(7–8), 1359–1386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanchflower, D. G., & Oswald, A. J. (2008). Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? Social Science and Medicine, 66, 1733–1749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bofota, Y. B., Boucekkine, R., & Bala, A. P. (2012). Social capital as an engine of growth: Multisectoral modelling and implications,” unpublished, University of Aix Marseille.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chou, Y. K. (2006). Three simple models of social capital and economic growth. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 35, 889–912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, A. E., & Oswald, A. J. (1996). Satisfaction and comparison income. Journal of Public Economics, 61(3), 359–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, (2017). How persistent is generalised trust? Sociology, Sociology, 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J. & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elgar, F.J., Davis, C. G., Wohl, M. J., Trites, S. J., Zelenski, J. M., & Martin, M. S. (2011). Social capital, health　and　life satisfaction in 50 countries, Health and Place, 17(5), 1044–1053.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh, S., Lahiri, S., & Datta, N. (2017). Understanding happiness and psychological wellbeing　among young married women in rural India. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 48(1), 113–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh, A., Millett, C., Subramanian, S. V., & Pramanik, S. (2017). Neighborhood heterogeneity in health and well-being among the elderly in India – Evidence from study on global ageing and adult health, Health and Place, 47, 100–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E. L., Laibson, D., & Sacerdote, B. (2002). An economic approach to social capital, The Economic Journal, 112(483), F437-F458

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E., & Sacerdote, B. (2000). The social consequences of housing. Journal of Housing Economics, 9(1–2), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Growiec, K., & Growiec, J. (2012). Social capital, trust, and multiple equilibria in economic performance,” unpublished, Institute for structural research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hafen, C. A., Singh, K., & Laursen, B. (2011). The happy personality in India: The role of emotional intelligence. Happiness Studies, 12, 807–817. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-010-9228-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helliwell, J. F., & Putnam, R. D. (1995). Economic growth and social capital in Italy. Eastern Economic Journal, 21(3) 295–307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helliwell, J. F. (2006). Well-being, social capital and public policy: What's new? The Economic Journal, 116(510), C34–C45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ichino, A., & Maggi, G. (2000). Work environment and individual　background: Explaining regional shirking differentials in　a large Italian firm. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115,1057–1090.

    Google Scholar 

  • Itaba, Y. (2016). Does city size affect happiness? In T. Tachibanaki (Ed.) Advances in happiness research: A comparative perspective, (pp. 245–273). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knack, S., & Keefer, P. (1997). Does social capital have an economic payoff? A cross-country investigation, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 11(4), 1251–1288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lakshmanasamy, T. (2010). Are you satisfied with your income? The economics of happiness in India, Journal of Quantitative Economics, 8(2), 115–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linsen, R., Kempen, V. L., & Kraaykamp, G. (2011). Subjective well-being in rural India: The curse of conspicuous consumption, Social Indicators Research, 101(1) 57–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2013). OECD guidelines on measuring subjective well-being, OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlowski, J., & Wicker, P. (2015). The monetary value of social capital, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 57, 26–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E. (2000). Collective action and the evolution of social norms. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14(3), 137–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oztok, M., Zingaro, D., Makos, A., Brett, C., & Hewitt, J. (2015). Capitalizing on social presence: The relationship between social capital and social presence. The Internet and Higher Education, 26, 19–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinquart, M., & Sörensen, S. (2000). Influences of socioeconomic status, social network, and competence on subjective well-being in later life: A meta-analysis, Psychology and Aging, 15(2), 187–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polit, K. M. (2005). The effects of inequality and relative marginality on the well-being of low caste people in central Uttaranchal. Anthropology and Medicine, 12(3), 225–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Praag, B., Frijters, P., & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. (2003). The anatomy of subjective well-being, Journal of　Economic Behavior and Organization, 51(1), 29–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community, Simon and Schuster, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roseta-Palma, C., Ferreira-Lopes, A., & Neves Sequeira, T. (2010). Externalities in an endogenous growth model with social and natural capital, Ecological Economics, 69, 603–612.

    Google Scholar 

  • Routledge, B. R., & von Amsberg, J. (2003). Social capital and growth. Journal of Monetary Economics, 50, 167–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sato, Y. (2013). Social capital. Sociopedia.isa, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1177/205684601374.

  • Stutzer, A., & Frey, B. S. (2012). Recent developments in the　economics of happiness: Inner wellbeing: concept and validation of a new approach to subjective perceptions of wellbeing—India. A selective overview, IZA Discussion Paper No. 7078.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stutzer, A., & Frey, B. S. (2006). Does marriage make people happy, or do happy people get married? The Journal of Socio-Economics, 35, 326–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szreter, S., & Woolcock, M. (2004). Health by association? Social capital, social theory, and the political economy of public health. International Journal of Epidemiology, 33, 650–667.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tavits, M. (2006). Making democracy work more? Exploring the Linkage between Social Capital and Government Performance, Political Research Quarterly, 59(2), 211–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (2012). Happiness: Also known as “life satisfaction” and “subjective well-being. In K. C. Land, A. C. Michalos, & M. J. Sirgy (Eds.), Handbook of social indicators and quality of life research. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Villalonga-Olives, E., & Kawachi, I. (2015). The measurement of bridging social capital in population health research. Health Place, 36, 47–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, S. C., Devine, J., & Jha, S. (2012). The life a person lives: Religion, wellbeing and development in India. Development in practice, 22(5–6), 651–662.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, S. C., Gaines, Jr. O. S., & Jha, S. (2014). Inner wellbeing: concept and validation of a new approach to subjective perceptions of wellbeing-India. Socio Indicators Research, 119(2), 723–46.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

    Yoshio Itaba

Authors
  1. Yoshio Itaba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yoshio Itaba .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Kazuo Mino

  2. Faculty of Economics, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

    Tadashi Yagi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Itaba, Y. (2022). Happiness and Social Capital in India. In: Mino, K., Yagi, T. (eds) The Cultural Basis of Economic Growth in India. Creative Economy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9305-5_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9305-5_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-9304-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-9305-5

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation