Why are Latin Europeans less happy? The impact of hierarchy

Brule, Gael and Veenhoven, Ruut (2012): Why are Latin Europeans less happy? The impact of hierarchy. Forthcoming in: Chapter 12 in: Canevacci, M. (Ed.) Polyphonic Antropology: Theoretical and empirical cross-cultural field work. InTech Open Access Publishers, Reijka, Croatia, ISBN 978-953-51-0418-6 (2012): chapter 12.

Abstract

Happiness in the North European is substantially higher than in the South European nations. Only part of that difference can be explained by economic prosperity. This paper explores the effect of social hierarchy. A comparison of contemporary survey findings show that power distance is more pronounced in the South than in the North of Eurpe. Macro‐sociological theory is used to provide an historical account of this difference and it can be used to explain why happiness is ower in hierarchical societies.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: life satisfaction, power distance, cross cultural, macro sociology
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A13 - Relation of Economics to Social Values; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare, Well-Being; D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D60 - General; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B1 - History of Economic Thought through 1925 > B15 - Historical ; Institutional ; Evolutionary

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