Inequality of Well-being in Asia : A Comparative Analysis of Happiness in Eight Countries

This article poses the research question of whether well-being inequalities exist in East and Southeast Asian countries. Layard (2005) proposes the "big seven" drivers of subjective happiness, but Asia may have more complicated and diverse mechanisms. We therefore compare eight countries in East and Southeast Asia using a case study approach and hypothesize differentiated levels, variances, and drivers of happiness between the two regions. Data are collected via a survey (N = 8,166). Happiness is measured by Cantril's ladder of life. Key findings include, first, that there are well-being inequalities among East and Southeast Asian countries because East Asia experiences relatively low and unequal happiness. Second, East Asia shares happiness determinants such as marriage and income, while Southeast Asia has no such common drivers. This reveals that there are geographical, rather than economic, differences in happiness in Asia. Such findings can be obtained only by comparing countries using an integrated perspective. Perhaps this article's most important contribution is that we can draw no single picture of happiness in Asia, but must develop potential Asian models of well-being.