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The Economic Geography of Happiness

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Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics

Abstract

Does geography matter when it comes to happiness? To what extent does where we live affect how we feel, and why? Economists have made significant contributions to both the measurement of subjective happiness and well-being as well as in the analysis of the factors affecting it. Nevertheless, there has been a relative paucity of studies that add a geographical dimension to the analysis of happiness and its determinants. This chapter makes the case for a Spatial Economics of Happiness. In particular, the chapter highlights the importance of geographical and socioeconomic contextual factors pertaining to well-being and happiness with a particular emphasis on the impact of social and spatial inequalities and social justice. It also makes a strong case for a spatial economics and economic geography perspective in the analysis of the spatial determinants of happiness, including new innovative ways of geovisualization as well as new possibilities for advanced spatial analysis.

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Acknowledgments

The author is very grateful to Milena Nikolova and two anonymous reviewers for their very useful and constructive comments and suggestions. The author is also very grateful to Ben Hennig for redrawing and providing Figs. 1–6 in a suitable format for this publication. Thanks are also due to Giles Stacey for proofreading and copy-editing and to Leo Mosquline for all the support and work on content editing and production. Any errors or misunderstandings are, of course, the responsibility of the author.

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  1. Department of Economic Geography, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Dimitris Ballas

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  1. Dimitris Ballas
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  1. UNU-MERIT & Princeton University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Klaus F. Zimmermann

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  1. Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Milena Nikolova

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Ballas, D. (2021). The Economic Geography of Happiness. In: Zimmermann, K.F. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_188-1

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