Subjective well-being differentiation in Central and Eastern European countries

Abstract

Within social sciences, there has been recently a growing interest in subjective well-being (SWB) measures. Assessments formulated by respondents in this respect are an indicator of their subjective view on their individual position within a larger social context. Variation in reported SWB levels within a country can be therefore regarded as a dimension of social inequality. Comparative research, which concentrates predominantly on western democracies shows stable and high average levels of SWB and a falling SWB variation, as well as a negative correlation between these elements. The article extends the existing state of knowledge to CEE countries. Using data from the European Social Survey for 2002–2016, the article traces trends in the average level and the dispersion in SWB in these countries and compares them to western European societies. Variation in SWB is higher among CEE countries, but falling, as the average SWB grows. Furthermore, the analyses confirm the negative impact of the level of economic development and the average SWB level on its dispersion also for CEE countries. However, we have not found evidence of a positive correlation between economic inequality and SWB variation for this group.