2025 Comparative Social Policy Symposium

Abstract

Research on happiness and well-being is mainstream in the public discourse, discussed widely in policy circles, academia, and the popular media. Across the social sciences, it is flourishing, with each discipline making their own contributions to the discovery of the sources of happiness and of unhappiness. My research showcases the sociologist’s contribution: what makes people happy depends on the social-institutional context. Accounting for social context allows sociologists to observe that what makes people happy in one social setting may not do so in another. An individual’s well-being is conceptualized as shaped by social status characteristics (e.g., gender and class) and as rooted in family and interpersonal relationships. While economists search for a universal model of happiness, sociologists seek answers that are specific to the institutional context. After detailing the sociological perspective on happiness, I will discuss the findings from my past international empirical research on happiness and my current research on well-being in a relational context.

Abstract

This presentation empirically explores the hierarchy of human needs, drawing on data from Latin America. Using the subjective well-being approach, it identifies the human needs whose fulfillment has the most profound impact on overall well-being. It then investigates the factors that meet these needs, with a particular emphasis on one key type of interpersonal relationship: person-based relationships. Finally, the presentation critiques the shortcomings of current social programs -such as poverty alleviation initiatives- that focus primarily on increasing income, while overlooking other crucial factors. In conclusion, it advocates for the design of more comprehensive social policies that account for all relevant factors that satisfy human needs.   

Abstract

Responses to the challenges of ageing in Europe and beyond have largely focused on productivist notions of active ageing, with more comprehensive responses tending to be reactive and largely remedial. This approach prioritizes the extension of working life (EWLs) and individual responsibility to reduce the ‘burden’ of population ageing. This presentation will briefly identify some of the key challenges and responses associated with demographic ageing, including active ageing. Using the example of the UK, it will define and chart the development of active ageing responses to demographic change, and the emergence of the EWLs agenda. It will then focus on pension measures associated with extended working lives, including raising the pension age, restricting access to early retirement, and providing a stronger link between pension benefits and contributions, indicating how they incentivise remaining in the labour market. However, it will also show that opportunities and choices to extend working lives have not been experienced equally, with implications for well-being in retirement. In practice most of these policies are gender blind. Women’s existing employment and pension disadvantages have been largely ignored in the development of EWLs policy, which has perpetuated or expanded many women’s financial disadvantages in older age. It highlights the need for a greater focus on gendered inequalities in the development of EWLs policy, in order to ensure they don’t adversely impact on women’s financial circumstances and well-being in later life. This needs to be considered in the context of a wider more inclusive and comprehensive life course focused approach to active ageing. 

Abstract

This study examines and explains the economic wellbeing disparity between two rapidly developing Southeast Asian nations, Viet Nam and the Philippines. Macro-level indicators, such as the Human Development Index (HDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP per capita, show broad similarities between these two countries, however, micro-level indicators reveal a stark difference in the economic resilience of their older populations. Baseline data from the Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP) and the Longitudinal Study of Aging and Health in Viet Nam (LSAHV) show that a significantly higher proportion of older Filipinos report difficulty meeting household expenses (57.0%) and experiencing household hunger (13.5%) compared to their Vietnamese counterparts (15% and 0.9%, respectively). This analysis seeks to resolve this research puzzle: Why does it appear that older Vietnamese are economically better off than older Filipinos?

This study first explores conventional explanations — including living arrangements, filial piety, and retirement preparedness — and argues that these factors, which show converging experiences between the two countries, may be insufficient to explain the observed economic gap. In addition, the study suggests that the disparity may be rooted in three deeper, country-level structural differences between Viet Nam and the Philippines: a) the contrasting political systems and corruption experiences (a Democratic Republic versus a One-Party Socialist Republic versus a Democratic Republic), b) differences in religion (Buddhism versus Roman Catholicism), and c) the divergent societal implementation of egalitarianism as influenced by colonial and post-regime histories.

There is a complex interplay of these macro- and micro-level factors that influence the differences in the economic wellbeing of older people in these two countries. Understanding the interrelationship of these factors is needed in order to develop appropriate and targeted policies and programs to ensure positive economic wellbeing of older people in Viet Nam and the Philippines. 
 

Abstract

Research argues that highly educated individuals are more likely than their less-educated counterparts to be happy, particularly through enhanced economic outcomes. Recent evidence further shows that this happiness return to education has increased over the past decades in tandem with societal-level educational expansion. However, we know little about (1) whether everyone can expect equal happiness returns to higher education (heterogeneous effects) and (2) how the potentially heterogeneous happiness returns to education vary across societies (cross-national patterns). From a gender and comparative perspective, this paper investigates the happiness premium for higher education across genders and its cross-national variation. Using data from the latest OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) for over 54,000 individuals in 25 countries and leveraging several mediation analysis techniques, the study reveals (1) higher education contributes to happiness in most countries; (2) the education-happiness linkage is substantially gendered, with women likely to receive smaller premiums due to the limited economic return to education; and (3) the degree and mechanisms of gender inequality differ substantially across societies. Some implications and the potential for future research are discussed.  

Abstract

Ageism against older adults is a global concern with significant implications for health and well-being. While the individual-level consequences of ageism are well-documented, the moderating role of structural sociopolitical factors remains underexplored. This study addresses these gaps by examining the relationship between perceived ageism and subjective well-being among older adults and investigating how macro-level sociopolitical conditions, such as economic conditions, political systems, and cultural values, moderate these effects. This study utilizes data from Wave 6 of the World Values Survey, comprising 15,697 older adults (aged 55+) across 43 countries. The results show that perceived ageism was negatively associated with both life satisfaction and happiness, after adjusting for sociodemographic variables and macro-level sociopolitical factors. Higher GDP per capita mitigated these adverse effects, suggesting that economic prosperity buffers against the negative impact of ageism. Conversely, political stability unexpectedly amplified the detrimental effects of ageism on subjective well-being. Additionally, long-term cultural orientation strengthened the negative association between age-related stereotypes and well-being, while individualism did not exhibit a significant moderating effect. These findings highlight the crucial role of structural conditions in shaping the well-being outcomes of ageism. By demonstrating how economic and political contexts influence the consequences of ageism, this study provides valuable insights for policymakers aiming to develop targeted interventions and policies that promote the well-being of older populations. 

Abstract

This Presentation employs a Rawlsian perspective on social justice to analyse subjective well-being outcomes among children aged 6-14 from 23 societies worldwide. Combining Wave 3 (2016-2019) of the International Survey of Children’s Lives and Well-being (Children’s Worlds) with fuzzy-set ideal type analysis (FSITA), it goes beyond ranking these societies from ‘best’ to ‘worst’, instead classifying them on the extent to which they meet the conditions of Rawls’s model society. Inequalities in child well-being outcomes are observed in all societies. Here, extending ideas advanced in UNICEF Innocenti’s (2016) Report Card 13: Fairness for Children, the Presentation asks whether it is possible to establish when and where these “inequalities” in children’s subjective well-being become “inequities.” The analysis finds no perfect cases, but highlights several societies, including Spain (Catalonia), Belgium, Hungary, and Norway, as closest to meeting a Rawlsian notion of “justice as fairness”. 

Keywords

Social justice – equity – inequality – child well-being – fuzzy set analysis 

Abstract

A longstanding body of literature has examined the link between culture and happiness, yet culture is often reduced to shared country-level values. This study introduces a framework that applies a multi-level approach and the concept of structural fit. We view culture as both a macro-level phenomenon and an individual-level manifestation, while also recognizing it as a dimension of broader social structures. Structural fit captures the alignment between individuals’ cultural orientations and objective social structures. We illustrate this framework by examining how the consistency between individuals’ perceptions of democracy and wider social structures shapes well-being. Using data from the joint EVS/WVS 2017–2022, we show that perceptions of democracy significantly influence happiness, especially when they align with both actual democratic conditions and collective representations of democracy. Our findings demonstrate that when personal perceptions align with society’s shared understanding and political realities, individuals report substantially higher levels of happiness.
 

Keywords:

happiness, cultural sociology, cultural differences, structural fit