1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Framework
2.1 Schwartz’s Scale of Individual Human Values and Subjective Well-Being
Conservation: Values that emphasize order, self-restriction, and resistance to change |
Security—Safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships and of self |
v05—Important to live in secure and safe surroundings |
v14—Important that government is strong and ensures safety |
Conformity—Restraint of actions likely to upset others and violate social expectations or norms |
v07—Important to do what is told and follow rules |
v16—Important to behave properly |
Tradition—Respect, commitment and acceptance of the customs and ideas that traditional culture or religion provide |
v09—Important to be humble and modest, not draw attention |
v20—Important to follow traditions and customs |
Openness to Change: Values that emphasize independence of thought, action and feeling and readiness for change |
Self-Direction—Independent thought and action-choosing, creating, exploring |
v01—Important to think new ideas and being creative |
v11—Important to make own decisions and be free |
Stimulation—Excitement, novelty, and challenge in life |
v06—Important to try new and different things in life |
v15—Important to seek adventures and have an exciting life |
Hedonism—Pleasure and sensuous gratification for oneself |
v10—Important to have a good time |
v21—Important to seek fun and things that give pleasure |
Self-enhancement: Values that emphasize pursuit of one´s interests, relative success, and dominance |
Achievement—personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards |
v04—Important to show abilities and be admired |
v13—Important to be successful and that people recognize achievements |
Power—Social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources |
v02—Important to be rich, have money and expensive things |
v17—Important to get respect from others |
Self-transcendence: Values that emphasize concern for the welfare and interests of others |
Benevolence—Preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one is in frequent personal contact |
v12—Important to help people and care for others well-being |
v18—Important to be loyal to friends and devote to people close |
Universalism—Understanding, and protection for the welfare of all and the environment |
v03—Important that people are treated equally and have equal opportunities |
v08—Important to understand different people |
v19—Important to care for nature and environment |
2.2 Culture as Aggregation of Individual Human Values
2.3 Happy cultures? Three Human Values as Cultural Attributes: Benevolence, Conformity, and Tradition
2.4 Regional and National Heterogeneity and Multilevel Studies
3 Empirical Approach
3.1 Methodology
3.2 Data
Mean | Standard deviation | Median | Minimum | Maximum | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Individual variables, \({X}_{ijk}\) (31,386 obs.) | |||||
Age | 50.03 | 17.94 | 50.00 | 15.00 | 99.00 |
Gender | 1.51 | 0.50 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 2.00 |
Marital status | 2.25 | 0.64 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
Tertiary education | 0.27 | 0.44 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
Subjective health | 2.19 | 0.55 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
Living in village-farm | 0.36 | 0.48 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
Political orientation | 2.04 | 0.69 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
Religiosity | 1.91 | 0.83 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
Trust in others | 2.18 | 0.75 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
Income | 1.95 | 0.75 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
Conservation | 4.31 | 0.82 | 4.33 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Self-transcendence | 4.88 | 0.70 | 5.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Openness to change | 4.09 | 0.86 | 4.17 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Self-enhancement | 3.51 | 1.02 | 3.50 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Security | 4.61 | 1.04 | 5.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Conformity | 4.03 | 1.11 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Tradition | 4.28 | 1.01 | 4.50 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Benevolence | 4.97 | 0.82 | 5.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Universalism | 4.79 | 0.78 | 5.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Self-direction | 4.64 | 0.94 | 5.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Stimulation | 3.56 | 1.20 | 3.50 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Hedonism | 4.06 | 1.14 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Achievement | 3.73 | 1.22 | 4.00 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Power | 3.28 | 1.08 | 3.50 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
Regional variables (means), \({X}_{jk}\) (273 obs.) | |||||
Conservation | 4.33 | 0.31 | 4.30 | 3.72 | 5.12 |
Self-transcendence | 4.85 | 0.29 | 4.92 | 3.56 | 5.44 |
Openness to change | 4.07 | 0.25 | 4.08 | 2.88 | 4.79 |
Self-enhancement | 3.50 | 0.46 | 3.43 | 2.46 | 4.63 |
Regional variables (%), \({X}_{jk}\) (273 obs.) | |||||
Conservation | 53.04 | 11.11 | 51.45 | 23.15 | 81.67 |
Self-transcendence | 70.61 | 12.79 | 73.51 | 22.74 | 93.75 |
Openness to change | 44.64 | 8.62 | 44.73 | 16.51 | 69.40 |
Self-enhancement | 28.85 | 11.97 | 26.99 | 9.53 | 61.66 |
National variables (means), \({X}_{k}\) (23 obs.) | |||||
Conservation | 4.31 | 0.25 | 4.27 | 3.86 | 4.73 |
Self-transcendence | 4.85 | 0.24 | 4.88 | 4.21 | 5.21 |
Openness to change | 4.09 | 0.21 | 4.09 | 3.68 | 4.43 |
Self-enhancement | 3.55 | 0.42 | 3.55 | 2.83 | 4.29 |
Security | 4.62 | 0.31 | 4.60 | 3.90 | 5.03 |
Conformity | 4.02 | 0.27 | 4.00 | 3.50 | 4.51 |
Tradition | 4.29 | 0.26 | 4.22 | 3.86 | 4.81 |
Benevolence | 4.94 | 0.28 | 5.00 | 4.17 | 5.30 |
Universalism | 4.77 | 0.21 | 4.80 | 4.25 | 5.13 |
Self-direction | 4.62 | 0.21 | 4.64 | 4.10 | 5.01 |
Stimulation | 3.58 | 0.16 | 3.55 | 3.34 | 3.92 |
Hedonism | 4.07 | 0.35 | 4.20 | 3.34 | 4.66 |
Achievement | 3.77 | 0.44 | 3.78 | 3.06 | 4.64 |
Power | 3.33 | 0.44 | 3.32 | 2.61 | 4.07 |
National variables (%), \({X}_{k}\) (23 obs.) | |||||
Conservation | 52.04 | 8.89 | 52.13 | 38.20 | 71.72 |
Self-transcendence | 70.36 | 10.60 | 71.79 | 45.10 | 85.36 |
Openness to change | 45.07 | 7.23 | 44.83 | 32.18 | 59.70 |
Self-enhancement | 29.68 | 11.04 | 29.13 | 14.09 | 51.64 |
Security | 62.12 | 11.43 | 63.25 | 37.49 | 82.25 |
Conformity | 43.23 | 9.39 | 41.96 | 23.51 | 60.98 |
Tradition | 50.78 | 9.31 | 50.32 | 39.08 | 73.50 |
Benevolence | 73.66 | 12.05 | 75.86 | 43.30 | 88.20 |
Universalism | 67.06 | 9.50 | 67.71 | 46.89 | 82.53 |
Self-direction | 61.37 | 8.81 | 61.40 | 43.08 | 76.99 |
Stimulation | 30.87 | 4.99 | 29.81 | 23.28 | 44.54 |
Hedonism | 42.96 | 10.81 | 44.12 | 23.60 | 61.51 |
Achievement | 34.91 | 12.43 | 31.08 | 16.59 | 62.28 |
Power | 24.45 | 10.62 | 21.12 | 9.84 | 44.09 |
Human Development Index, \({{\varvec{X}}}_{{\varvec{k}}}\) (23 obs.) | 0.90 | 0.04 | 0.90 | 0.82 | 0.95 |
4 Results
4.1 Regional and National Factors Explaining Subjective Well-Being
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
(Intercept) | 8.17 *** | 8.21 *** | 8.20 *** | |
National fixed effects | No | Yes | No | No |
Random Effects | ||||
\({\sigma }^{2}\) | 3.57 | 3.57 | 3.64 | 3.57 |
\({\sigma }_{j}^{2}\) | 0.53 | 0.09 | 0.09 | |
\({\sigma }_{k}^{2}\) | 0.49 | 0.49 | ||
\({ICC}_{j}\) | 0.128 | 0.021 | ||
\({ICC}_{k}\) | 0.119 | 0.118 | ||
\({ICC}_{jk}\) | 0.139 | |||
Deviance | 129,722 | 129,328 | 129,726 | 129,434 |
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Individual variables,\({X}_{ijk}\) | ||||||
Conservation | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
Self-transcendence | 0.09 *** | 0.09 *** | 0.09 *** | 0.09 *** | 0.09 *** | |
Openness to change | 0.15 *** | 0.15 *** | 0.15 *** | 0.15 *** | 0.15 *** | |
Self-enhancement | − 0.12 *** | − 0.12 *** | − 0.12 *** | − 0.12 *** | − 0.12 *** | |
Regional variables (means),\({X}_{jk}\) | ||||||
Conservation | − 0.01 | 0.02 | ||||
Self-transcendence | 0.13 * | 0.07 | ||||
Openness to change | 0.07 | 0.06 | ||||
Self-enhancement | − 0.07 | − 0.04 | ||||
Regional variables (%),\({X}_{jk}\) | ||||||
Conservation | − 0.04 | 0.00 | ||||
Self-transcendence | 0.18 ** | 0.10 | ||||
Openness to change | 0.04 | 0.03 | ||||
Self-enhancement | − 0.03 | − 0.00 | ||||
National variables (means),\({X}_{k}\) | ||||||
Conservation | − 0.29 | |||||
Self-transcendence | 0.49 * | |||||
Openness to change | − 0.17 | |||||
Self-enhancement | 0.26 | |||||
National variables (%),\({X}_{k}\) | ||||||
Conservation | − 0.27 | |||||
Self-transcendence | 0.59 ** | |||||
Openness to change | − 0.24 | |||||
Self-enhancement | 0.20 | |||||
Random effects | ||||||
\({\sigma }^{2}\) | 2.99 | 2.97 | 2.97 | 2.97 | 2.97 | 2.97 |
\({\sigma }_{j}^{2}\) | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 |
\({\sigma }_{k}^{2}\) | 0.27 | 0.28 | 0.17 | 0.16 | 0.13 | 0.11 |
\({ICC}_{k}\) | 0.083 | 0.084 | 0.054 | 0.051 | 0.040 | 0.035 |
\({ICC}_{jk}\) | 0.099 | 0.101 | 0.070 | 0.068 | 0.056 | 0.052 |
Deviance | 123,817 | 123,527 | 123,506 | 123,507 | 123,494 | 123,493 |
4.2 Basic Human Values at Individual and National Level
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Individual variables,\({X}_{ik}\) | ||||||||
Security | − 0.02 | − 0.02 | − 0.02 | |||||
Conformity | 0.04 *** | 0.04 *** | 0.04 *** | 0.06 *** | 0.04 ** | 0.04 ** | 0.04 ** | 0.04 ** |
Tradition | − 0.04 *** | − 0.04 *** | − 0.04 *** | − 0.03 ** | − 0.05 *** | − 0.05 *** | − 0.05 *** | − 0.05 *** |
Benevolence | 0.14 *** | 0.14 *** | 0.14 *** | 0.12 *** | 0.13 *** | 0.13 *** | 0.13 *** | 0.13 *** |
Universalism | − 0.01 | − 0.01 | − 0.01 | |||||
Self-direction | 0.04 ** | 0.04 ** | 0.04 ** | 0.04 ** | 0.03 ** | 0.03 ** | 0.03 ** | 0.03 ** |
Stimulation | − 0.01 | − 0.01 | − 0.01 | |||||
Hedonism | 0.18 *** | 0.18 *** | 0.18 *** | 0.17 *** | 0.17 *** | 0.17 *** | 0.17 *** | 0.17 *** |
Achievement | − 0.07 *** | − 0.07 *** | − 0.07 *** | − 0.03 * | − 0.08 *** | − 0.08 *** | − 0.08
*** | − 0.08 *** |
Power | − 0.08 *** | − 0.08 *** | − 0.08 *** | − 0.06 *** | − 0.08 *** | − 0.08 *** | − 0.08 *** | − 0.08 *** |
National variables (means),\({X}_{k}\) | ||||||||
Security | − 0.01 | |||||||
Conformity | 0.12 | 0.10 | 0.21 *** | 0.15 ** | ||||
Tradition | − 0.52 ** | − 0.16 | − 0.27 *** | − 0.11 | ||||
Benevolence | 0.24 | 0.35 *** | 0.46 *** | 0.29 *** | ||||
Universalism | 0.30 | |||||||
Self-direction | 0.18 | |||||||
Stimulation | − 0.03 | |||||||
Hedonism | − 0.14 | |||||||
Achievement | 0.20 | |||||||
Power | 0.12 | |||||||
National variables (%),\({X}_{k}\) | ||||||||
Security | − 0.06 | |||||||
Conformity | 0.09 | 0.19 * | 0.13 * | |||||
Tradition | − 0.41 * | − 0.27 *** | − 0.12 | |||||
Benevolence | 0.43 | 0.46 *** | 0.27 ** | |||||
Universalism | 0.19 | |||||||
Self-direction | 0.07 | |||||||
Stimulation | − 0.00 | |||||||
Hedonism | − 0.15 | |||||||
Achievement | 0.20 | |||||||
Power | 0.06 | |||||||
HDI,\({X}_{k}\) | 0.26 *** | 0.26 ** | ||||||
Random Effects | ||||||||
\({\sigma }^{2}\) | 2.99 | 2.99 | 2.99 | 3.00 | 2.99 | 2.99 | 2.99 | 2.99 |
\({\sigma }_{k}^{2}\) | 0.28 | 0.05 | 0.09 | 0.13 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.03 | 0.04 |
\({ICC}_{k}\) | 0.085 | 0.017 | 0.028 | 0.041 | 0.019 | 0.022 | 0.010 | 0.014 |
Deviance | 123,534 | 123,487 | 123,497 | 123,601 | 123,500 | 123,504 | 123,484 | 123,492 |
Detail of results in Table 5 | Weighted estimation | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Estimate | Std. Error | t value | p value | Estimate | Std. Error | t value | ||
Equation (5): national means of human values | Conformity | 0.213 | 0.063 | 3.370 | 0.003 | 0.202 | 0.050 | 4.031 |
Tradition | − 0.266 | 0.063 | − 4.205 | 0.000 | − 0.263 | 0.060 | − 4.349 | |
Benevolence | 0.461 | 0.053 | 8.722 | 0.000 | 0.469 | 0.055 | 8.555 | |
Equation (6): % of people in each country choosing the ‘like’ option in questions about these values | Conformity | 0.187 | 0.074 | 2.531 | 0.020 | 0.175 | 0.052 | 3.335 |
Tradition | − 0.272 | 0.075 | − 3.607 | 0.002 | − 0.267 | 0.059 | − 4.542 | |
Benevolence | 0.462 | 0.059 | 7.797 | 0.000 | 0.462 | 0.065 | 7.096 |
4.3 Individual-Level Control Variables
Age | − 1.19 *** |
Age squared | 1.27 *** |
Gender: Female | 0.05 * |
Marital status: Married | 0.42 *** |
Marital status: Widowed or Never married | 0.12 ** |
Tertiary education | 0.11 *** |
Subjective health: Good | 1.71 *** |
Subjective health: Fair | 1.01 *** |
Living in a village or farm | 0.09 *** |
Political orientation: Centre | 0.17 *** |
Political orientation: Right | 0.42 *** |
Religiosity: Medium | 0.07 ** |
Religiosity: High | 0.34 *** |
Trust in others: Medium | 0.32 *** |
Trust in others: High | 0.71 *** |
Income: Medium | 0.39 *** |
Income: High | 0.70 *** |