Gruner PS17 - ECPP2014

1. The Relationship of Wealth,
Health, and Happiness: Global
Perspectives on Well-Being
Daniel T. Gruner
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD
Quality of Life Research Center
Claremont Graduate University
ECPP 2014

2. Does
Money
Make
us
Happy?
w It does, but only up to a point
(Diener, 2000; Easterlin 2003; Myers, 2000)
w Hedonic Adaptation
(Diener, 2000; Diener, Lucas, & Scollon, 2006)
w Relative Utility
(Diener & Lucas, 2000; Hagerty & Veenhoven, 2003)
w Easterlin Paradox Debate
(Easterlin, 1974; Hagerty & Veenhoven, 2003)

3. Does
Happiness
Impact
our
Health?
w Happier people are less vulnerable to disease
(Myers, 2000; Weisse, 1992)
w Happiness associated with healthy immune systems
(Weisse, 1992)
w Positive affect associated with decreased pain and
higher life expectancy
(Diener & Chan, 2011; Pressman & Cohen, 2005)
w Emotion-health connection
corroborated across the globe
(Pressman, Gallagher, & Lopez, 2013)

4. Data Sources
World Values Survey (Wave 4, collected in 1999-2004)
- Nationally representative samples of 87 countries around the world
- Simple random sampling based on geographical location
- Representation of urban and rural areas
- Publically available interview data
Gallup World Poll (Collected in 2005-2007)
- Nationally representative samples of 95% of countries around the world
- Random digit dial, area frame, cluster sampling, face-to-face
- Based on geographic location
- Representation of urban and rural areas
- Publically available data
World Bank (Estimates in 2000)
- Per Capita Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and Nominal GDP

5. Measures
Happiness
- World Values Survey
- 1 Question -- “Taking all things together, would you say you are:”
(1) Very happy
(2) Quite happy
(3) Not very happy
(4) Not at all happy
- Happiness Index (0-200):
- (Very Happy + Quite Happy) – (Not Very Happy + Not at all Happy) + 100
- Range = 91.1 – 192.8, M = 160.04, SD = 26.79
- 72 countries, approximately 1000 individuals sampled from each

6. Health
- Gallup World Poll
- Health Index (0-100)
- Range = 56 – 84, M = 73.74, SD = 6.31
- 72 countries, approximately 1000 individuals sampled from each
(1) Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your personal health?
(2) Do you have any health problems that prevent you from doing any of the
things people your age normally can do?
(3) Did you feel well rested yesterday?
(4) Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday?
Physical pain.
(5) Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday?
Sadness.
(6) Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday?
Worry.
Measures (Cont’d.)

7. Norway
Switzerland
Denmark
U.S
Japan
Wealth and Happiness
Netherlands
Ireland
Germany
New Zealand
Puerto Rico
Italy
Israel
El Salvador
Mexico
Philippines
Hungary
Indonesia
Moldova
Russia
Romania
Bulgaria
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Happiness
GDP
Note: Sources: World Values Survey Wave 4 (1999-2004); World Bank (2000). Wealth measured in
Nominal Per Capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Sample contains 71 countries (N = 71).

8. Switzerland
Wealth and Health
Netherlands Japan
Norway
Denmark
U.S
Ireland
Health GDP
Israel
Saudi Arabia
Taiwan
El Salvador
Colombia
Russia
Venezuela
Mexico
Hungary
Belarus
Moldova
Ukraine
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Note: Sources: Gallup World Poll (2005-2007); World Bank (2000). Wealth measured in Nominal
Per Capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Sample contains 72 countries (N = 72).

9. Ireland
Denmark
Switzerland
United States
Japan
Netherlands
Happiness and Health
Slovenia
Health Happiness
Hungary
Bulgaria
Belarus
Macedonia
Ukraine
Georgia
Moldova
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210
Note: Sources: World Values Survey waves 1-4 (1981-2004); Gallup World Poll
(2005-2007). Sample contains 71 countries (N = 71).

10. Does
happiness
mediate
the
rela8onship
between
wealth
and
health?

11. Mediation Analysis
(1)
Hierarchical
Regression
(Baron
&
Kenny,
1986)
(2)
PROCESS
(Hayes,
2012)
Ÿ
Based
on
10,000
bootstrapped
samples

12. Purchasing
Power
Parity
(PPP)
per
capita
GDP,
Happiness,
Health
GDP
(PPP)
Happiness
Health
.498***
.753***
(.816***)
.126
(.501***)
*p<.05;
**p<.01;
***p<.001
Figure
1.
Standardized
Effects
of
Log
Transformed
Purchasing
Power
Parity
Per
Capita
Gross
Domes8c
Product
(PPP
GDP)
and
Happiness
on
Health,
with
Total
Effects
Shown
in
Parentheses
(N
=
71).

13. Purchasing
Power
Parity
(PPP)
per
capita
GDP,
Happiness,
Health
GDP
(PPP)
Health
Happiness
.501***
.756***
(.816***)
.119
(.498***)
*p<.05;
**p<.01;
***p<.001
Figure
2.
Standardized
Effects
of
Log
Transformed
Purchasing
Power
Parity
Per
Capita
Gross
Domes8c
Product
(PPP
GDP)
and
Health
on
Happiness,
with
Total
Effects
Shown
in
Parentheses
(N
=
71).

14. Conclusion
Well-being is a psychological function of
the experience of happiness, which GDP
and wealth alone cannot satisfy.

15. Implications
¤ New national indicators of success and flourishing
¤ Once basic needs are met, focus on increasing happiness
¤ Provide opportunities for engagement and flow
¤ Increase hope and optimism

16. Limitations and Future Directions
¤ Cross Sectional vs. Time Series
¤ Health items might overlap with happiness index
¤ Extend data collection to additional countries
¤ Individual-level data
¤ Health index as a proxy for objective health

17. Thank You
Daniel
T.
Gruner
PhD
Student,
Posi8ve
Developmental
Psychology
Claremont
Graduate
University
Quality
of
Life
Research
Center
Email:
dtgruner@gmail.com

18. Selected
References
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R.
M.
&
Kenny,
D.
A.
(1986).
The
moderator-­‐mediator
dis8nc8on
in
social
psychological
research:
Conceptual,
strategic,
and
sta8s8cal
considera8ons.
Journal
of
Personality
and
Social
Psychology,
51,
1173-­‐1182.
Diener,
E.
(2000).
Subjec8ve
well-­‐being:
The
science
of
happiness
and
a
proposal
for
a
na8onal
index.
American
Psychologist,
55(1),
34-­‐43.
doi:10.1037/0003-­‐066X.55.1.34
Diener,
E.,
Lucas,
R.
E.,
&
Scollon,
C.
(2006).
Beyond
the
hedonic
treadmill:
Revising
the
adapta8on
theory
of
well-­‐being.
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61(4),
305-­‐314.
doi:10.1037/0003-­‐066X.61.4.305
Hagerty,
M.
R.,
&
Veenhoven,
R.
(2003).
Wealth
and
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Revisited-­‐-­‐Growing
Na8onal
Income
Does
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Hayes,
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A
VersaCle
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Tool
for
Observed
Variable
MediaCon,
ModeraCon,
and
CondiConal
Process
Modeling.
Unpublished
Manuscript.
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D.
G.
(2000).
The
funds,
friends,
and
faith
of
happy
people.
American
Psychologist,
55(1),
56-­‐67.
doi:10.1037/0003-­‐066X.55.1.56
Pressman,
S.
D.,
&
Cohen,
S.
(2005).
Does
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Affect
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BulleCn,
131(6),
925-­‐971.
doi:10.1037/0033-­‐2909.131.6.925
Pressman,
S.
D.,
Gallagher,
M.
W.,
&
Lopez,
S.
J.
(2013).
Is
the
emo8on-­‐health
connec8on
a
'first-­‐world
problem'?.
Psychological
Science,
24(4),
544-­‐549.
Weisse,
C.
S.
(1992).
Depression
and
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A
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the
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