Numerous studies have examined the existence of the “well-being paradox,” according to which subjective well-being is stable or even improves in later life despite worsening health and social losses. However, a consensus has not been reached regarding the factors accounting for the paradox. We utilized repeated cross-sectional survey data from Japan, China, and three European countries (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) over two decades to compare the happiness trajectory over age and the factors affecting happiness across the five countries. When we used the unadjusted data, we observed U-shaped age-happiness curves in Japan and China, whereas the curves were relatively S-shaped in Europe. However, after controlling for the four intervening variables (marital status, income, job status, and health), the curves aligned more with the well-being paradox across all five countries. Each intervening variable’s role differed substantially across the countries; notably, a change in job status from working to retirement decreased happiness more substantially in Europe than in Japan and China.
Oshio et al. (Tue,) studied this question.