國家資本如何決定人民生活滿意？

Abstract

本研究的目的是探討在控制了個人層次因素之後，國家資本對人民生活滿意的影響，並了解人民生活滿意的國家經濟資本的飽和效果是否存在，進而分析經濟、社會與環境資本等三種不同的國家資本在人民生活滿意中所扮演的角色。本研究使用世界價值觀調查、世界經濟指標統計資料庫與國際緊急災害資料庫作為資料來源，調查時間橫跨1995 年至 2008 年，共涵蓋 66 國的 104 筆國家-時期資料，共 149,213 人接受調查，並採用三層次年齡 - 時期 - 世代階層模式進行分析。本文研究主要的研究發現分別為： (1) 排除個人層次因素之影響後，國家社會脈絡的確會對人民生活滿意造成影響； (2) 國家經濟資本對人民生活滿意的影響有飽和效果，即在國家經濟資本達到一定水準之後， 更高的國家經濟資本不一定能幫助人民生活滿意的提昇； (3) 國家社會資本能提昇人民的生活滿意，且此影響效果不受該國國家經濟資本高低之影響； (4) 國家環境資本亦能提昇人民的生活滿意，但此影響效果僅在國家經濟資本達到一定水準之後才會顯現。

This study has three purposes: (1) to investigate the effect of the national capitals on citizens' life satisfaction, once individual-level predictors have been taken into account; (2) to examine the satiation effects of the national economic capital on citizens' life satisfaction; and (3) to scrutinize the roles of national economic, social and environmental capitals in citizens' life satisfaction. Using data from the World Value Survey, World Development Indicators, and The International Emergency Disasters Database, this study employs three level age-period-cohort model to explore the influences of national capitals on citizens' life satisfaction. The sample consists of 149,213 respondents from 66 countries over period 1995-2008. The results show that after controlling for the influence of individual factors, national contexts play an important role in individuals' life satisfaction. Besides, this study provides support for the satiation effect of the national economic capital on citizens' life satisfaction. In other words, after national economic saturation point is reached, people gain little in life satisfaction even as GDP rises further. Moreover, the results indicate that national social capital can improve citizens' life satisfaction, and this effect does not vary significantly with nation economic capital. Finally, the finding illustrates that national environmental capital can enhance citizens' life satisfaction, although this effect only appears when countries are affluent enough.