Trust and Life Satisfaction : Comparison between 7 Asian Countries

This study comparatively analyzed the impact of trust on life satisfaction in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia. The data used in the analysis was the “Asian Social Well-being Survey (2015∼2017)” and compared East Asian countries (Korea, Taiwan, and Japan) and Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). As a result of conducting a multiple regression analysis with life satisfaction as the dependent variable, the effect of trust showed interesting differences between countries. Although the average level of trust was higher in 4 Southeast Asain countries than in 3 Northeast Asian countries, its impact on life satisfaction was more pronounced in Northeast Asian countries and smaller in Southeast Asia. This study focused on the differences in how trust operates between the 7 Asian countries, found trust to be an important variable explaining life satisfaction, and discussed its implications.