The influencing factors and formation mechanism of national well-being from production-living-ecological perspective

Abstract

[Objective] By analyzing the influencing factors of national well-being and its formation mechanism, this study aimed to provide a reference basis for governments to formulate targeted strategies to improve national well-being. [Methods] Based on the human’s production-living-ecological space, this study proposed an analytical framework from the production-living-ecological perspective. Employing the aggregated national well-being data of 146 countries in 2005-2018, this study used the two-way fixed effects model and stepwise causality test to analyze the influence of production-living-ecological factors on national well-being and its mechanism. [Results] The results show that: (1) In the spatial dimension, the pattern of global national well-being is characterized by the tripolar distribution of northern Europe, northern America, and Oceania. Most western and southern Asian and African countries have low levels of national well-being; In the temporal dimension, global national well-being showed a trend towards diversification, and the temporal trends of national well-being varied obviously across countries within each continent. (2) Among production factors, a higher Gini index of income is detrimental to national well-being; Among living factors, social support promotes national well-being while the unemployment rate hinders national well-being; Among ecological factors, more land green area per capita is beneficial for national well-being. The GDP growth and Gini index of income have greater effect sizes in developing countries than in developed countries. (3) Positive and negative affect play mediation roles in the relationships between production-living-ecological factors and national well-being. Inflation rate, unemployment rate, years of education, and carbon emission intensity are negatively associated with national well-being through emotional variables, while social support, governance capacity of governments, child-age dependency ratio, and land green area per capita have indirect and positive effects on national well-being. [Conclusion] Therefore, China should adhere to the development path of production development, affluent living, and ecological sustainability, which is conducive to maximizing national well-being.

Keywords

• national well-being|production-living-ecological factors|positive affect|negative affect|formation mechanism