Study Flavin (2018): study US 1976
- Public
- 18+ aged, general public, , 1976 - 2006
- Survey name
- US-GSS 1972-2006
- Sample
- Respondents
- N = 26007
- Non Response
- Assessment
- Interview: face-to-face
Correlate
- Authors's Label
- State spending on public goods, without education and welfare
- Our Classification
-
-
- Remarks
- Source: US Census Bureau (2010). Historcal Finances of Staternments.
- Distribution
-
Mean 1,25 sd 0,50 (% GSP)
Mean 10,85 sd 3,70 (% total state spending) - Operationalization
- Total spending, as % of total Gross State Product (GSP), on goods that are generally non-rivalrous and non-excludable, for:
-libraries
-parks and recreation,
-natural resources
-highways (not toll)
-police protection.
NB: Spending on education and public welfare, e,g. poverty assistance are excluded.
Observed Relation with Happiness
Weaker effect (+0.019, p<.05) if spending on public goods is expressed as % of total spending of the state.
Controls at individual level
-unemployed
-married
-female
-African American
-age and age-squared
-education
-family income
-self-reported health
-church attendance
Controls at state-level
-unemployment rate
-income inequality
-left government power
-union density
-economic growth
-violent crime rate
-% non-white
-state and year effects.