Kohnert, Dirk (2022): Les Africains, sont-ils heureux ? « Retour au rire » en temps de guerre, de famine et de misère.
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Abstract
ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ : Happiness is a universal state of mind. However, its meaning takes on culture-specific forms, ranging from emotional states of mind to life satisfaction. The definition of 'happiness' is strongly influenced by the respective philosophical background and material living conditions and is shaped by linguistic differences. Even within countries, location and social structure are important in the conceptualization and measurement of wellbeing. Exceptions prove the rule. In Laura Bohannan’s classic anthropological study of the Tiv in the Nigerian Middle Belt in the 1950s, the ‘return to laughter’ signified the laughter of despair, e.g. when people laughed at human misery given omnipresent witchcraft. Another exemption of the rule is related to COVID-19 lockdowns that were associated with a drop in satisfaction, regardless of country-specific characteristics or the type and duration of the lockdown. In Sub-Saharan Africa both the level of happiness and the level of income have shown increasing tendencies in recent decades. However, trends in inequality between indicators of income and happiness can diverge significantly. In general, happiness does not automatically increase with increasing income but lags behind. As shown by the economy of happiness, this paradox does not appear to occur in countries like South Africa, the most unequal country in the world. The country registered growing equality of happiness despite rising income inequality. Obviously, the absolute impact of income and happiness inequality at the country level is more important than the relative impact. Hence, happiness inequality, in general, can be a useful supplementary measure of inequality, particularly in Africa, which is considered a 'black spot' when it comes to happiness research. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RÉSUMÉ : Le bonheur est un état d'esprit universel. Cependant, sa signification prend des formes spécifiques à la culture, allant des états d'esprit émotionnels à la satisfaction générale de la vie. La définition du « bonheur » est fortement influencée par le contexte philosophique et les conditions de vie matérielles respectives et est façonnée par les différences linguistiques. Même au sein des pays, la localisation et la structure sociale sont importantes dans la conceptualisation et la mesure du bien-être. Les exceptions confirment la règle. Dans l’étude anthropologique classique de Laura Bohannan sur les Tiv du Middle Belt nigériane dans les années 1950, le « retour au rire » signifiait le rire du désespoir, p. ex. quand les gens se moquaient de la misère humaine face à la sorcellerie omniprésente. Une autre exemption de la règle est liée aux confinements liés au COVID-19 qui ont été associés à une baisse de la satisfaction, indépendamment des caractéristiques spécifiques au pays ou du type et de la durée du confinement. En Afrique subsaharienne, tant le niveau de bonheur que le niveau de revenu ont montré des tendances à la hausse au cours des dernières décennies. Cependant, les tendances de l'évolution de l'inégalité entre les indicateurs de revenu et de bonheur peuvent diverger considérablement. En général, le bonheur n'augmente pas automatiquement avec l'augmentation des revenus, mais reste à la traîne. Ce paradoxe, comme le montre l'économie du bonheur, ne semble pas se produire dans des pays comme l'Afrique du Sud, l'un des pays les plus inégalitaires au monde. Le pays a enregistré une égalité croissante de bonheur malgré la hausse des inégalités de revenus. De toute évidence, l'impact absolu des inégalités de revenu et de bonheur au niveau national est plus important que l'impact relatif. Par conséquent, l'inégalité du bonheur en général peut être une mesure supplémentaire utile de l'inégalité, en particulier en Afrique, qui est considérée comme une « tache noir » en matière de recherche sur le bonheur.
Item Type: | MPRA Paper |
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Original Title: | Les Africains, sont-ils heureux ? « Retour au rire » en temps de guerre, de famine et de misère |
English Title: | Are Africans happy? 'Return to laughter' in times of war, famine and misery |
Language: | French |
Keywords: | Afrique, Afrique subsaharienne, bonheur, philosophie, économie du bonheur, Rapport mondial sur le bonheur, paradoxe d'Easterlin, religion en Afrique, inégalités sociale, inégalités de revenu, classe sociale, pauvreté, famine, Afrique du Sud, Nigéria, Ghana |
Subjects: | D - Microeconomics > D0 - General > D01 - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D11 - Consumer Economics: Theory D - Microeconomics > D3 - Distribution > D31 - Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D64 - Altruism ; Philanthropy D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D87 - Neuroeconomics E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E26 - Informal Economy ; Underground Economy F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy > F54 - Colonialism ; Imperialism ; Postcolonialism I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I14 - Health and Inequality I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I24 - Education and Inequality I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I32 - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J17 - Value of Life ; Forgone Income N - Economic History > N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics ; Industrial Structure ; Growth ; Fluctuations > N17 - Africa ; Oceania N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy > N37 - Africa ; Oceania O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources ; Human Development ; Income Distribution ; Migration O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O17 - Formal and Informal Sectors ; Shadow Economy ; Institutional Arrangements O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O55 - Africa Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification |
Item ID: | 112941 |
Depositing User: | Dr. Dirk Kohnert |
Date Deposited: | 03 May 2022 13:21 |
Last Modified: | 03 May 2022 13:21 |
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URI: | https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/id/eprint/112941 |