Inequality of happiness in nations

Dispersion of:  happiness   lifesatisfaction   affect balance mixed items Inequality-Adjusted Happiness (IAH)

1. If available based on 3 step question (table 1.1.a), replenished with data on 4-step and 5-step happiness, recoded to 3 step (tables 1.1.1b+c).
- Based on original 3-step frequency distributions in: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, South-Korea, Spain, Switzerland, UK, USA, West-Germany.
- Based on reduced 4-step frequency distributions (step 3 = 3+4) in: Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Belarus.
- Based on reduced 5-step frequency distributions (step 3 = 3+4+5) in: Austria, Philippines, Singapore.
SD on 4-step happiness was on average .04 lower than on 3-step happiness (Average based on 12 double cases). SD on 5-step happiness was on average .06 higher than on 3 step happiness (Average based on 11 double cases). These deviations were not corrected.

2. Corrected by  Koster

3. Corrected by Joop Ehrhardt

4. Most scores are based on responses to the following question: "All things considered, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your life-as-a-whole now? 1 dissatisfied to10 satisfied" (item code O-SLW/c/sq/n/10/a). This classification is explained in section 4/3 of the introductory text. Scores on this 1-10 scale were transformed linearly to range 0-10. This transformation in explained in the introductory text, chapter 7.3.
Scores of ten nations are based on responses to a somewhat different question: "Suppose the top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder the worst possible life. Where on this ladder do you feel you personally stand at the present time?" The response was rated on a ladder scale ranging from 0 to 10 (item code O-BW/c/sq/l/11/c). We transformed the standard deviation on this item using the information of nations in which both this item and the above question on life-satisfaction had been used in about the same years.There are 33 such cases and the standard deviations on the two items appears to be strongly correlated; r = +.69 (after omitting three outliers; Egypt, Pakistan and Tanzania). We computed the regression equation and used these to estimate the score on 0-10 life-satisfaction. The formula is: estimated standard deviation of 0-10 life satisfaction = 1,453 + 0,551 x observed standard deviation on the Best-Worst item. These estimates are reported in this table. The 95% confidence interval around these estimated values is about 1 point, which means that these estimates are quite rough. The original means on the Best Worst item were: Angola, 1,98; Bolivia, 2,11; Guatemala, 1,91; Honduras, 2,12; Ivory Coast, 1,94; Kenya, 1,90; Libanon,2,01; Mali, 1,50; Senegal, 1,85 and Uzbekistan 2,10.This estimation technique is described in more detail in the Introductory Text, chapter 7 'Comparability of the data' in section 7/3.1 'Converting scores on measures of different happiness variants'.

States of Nations is an inventory of country characteristics. It is part of the World Database of Happiness

Keywords added: Happiness, Life Satisfaction, Social inequality