Distributional dynamics of life satisfaction in Europe

Vanesa Jordá. Borja López-Noval. José María Sarabia. [Autores]
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ISBN: 978-84-606-9287-4
COIBA/Universidad de Cantabria
España - Santander
Septiembre de 2015

In this paper, we analyze the evolution of inequality and polarization in life satisfaction in the Euro-12 group of countries. We rely on the recent literature to employ measures that respect the ordinal nature of this variable. An especial emphasis is made in the theoretical distinction of these two distributional phenomena, characterizing the Abul Naga and Yalcin (2008) index as a measure of polarization for a particular range of the parameters. Our main finding is that life satisfaction inequality was significantly higher in 2014 than in 1995. The rise at the aggregate level is basically explained by the increase in inequality in the Mediterranean countries and Ireland. Polarization in life satisfaction exhibits a similar pattern to that of inequality, albeit some significant departures are observed.