This study examines the determinants of subjective economic status and life satisfaction among Korean middle-aged individuals, defined as those between 45 and 57 years old. The research explores the impact of eating out expenses, clothing expenses, employment status, and physical exercise on these factors. Data is drawn from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Elderly Employment (KLoEE) for the year 2022, with a sample size of 4392 observations. To test the research hypotheses, quadratic multiple regression analysis was employed. The findings reveal that subjective economic status is significantly influenced by both eating out and clothing expenses, exhibiting an inverted-U-shaped effect. Additionally, an inverted U-shaped relationship between clothing expenses and life satisfaction was also observed. Employment had a positive effect on subjective economic status but a negative impact on life satisfaction. Furthermore, regular physical exercise was found to influence both subjective economic status and life satisfaction positively. The study concludes that subjective economic status positively affects life satisfaction among the Korean middle-aged population. This research contributes to the literature by identifying key behavioral characteristics of this demographic in Korea and discussing relevant policy implications.
Kim et al. (Tue,) studied this question.