Happy without money: Minimally monetized societies can exhibit high subjective well-being

Abstract

Economic growth is often assumed to improve happiness for people in low income countries, although the association between monetary income and subjective well-being has been a subject of debate. We test this assumption by comparing three different measures of subjective well-being in very low-income communities with different levels of monetization. Contrary to expectations, all three measures of subjective well-being were very high in the least-monetized sites and comparable to those found among citizens of wealthy nations. The reported drivers of happiness shifted with increasing monetization: from enjoying experiential activities in contact with nature at the less monetized sites, to social and economic factors at the more monetized sites. Our results suggest that high levels of subjective well-being can be achieved with minimal monetization, challenging the perception that economic growth will raise life satisfaction among low income populations.

Does catching more fish increase the subjective well-being of fishers? Insights from Bangladesh

“…Net repair is a time-consuming daily task of fishing crews in Nijhum Dwip, but it is usually a task done by someone other than fishermen in Chittagong, typically fishermen’s wives or men who are hired for it. A previous study on these sites found that the studied Bangladeshi communities have high subjective well-being relative to the national average (Miñarro et al 2021 ). Further, fishermen often related different aspects of the fishing profession (notably high catches, among others) when prompted about what makes them happy (Miñarro et al 2021 ).…”

“…A previous study on these sites found that the studied Bangladeshi communities have high subjective well-being relative to the national average (Miñarro et al 2021 ). Further, fishermen often related different aspects of the fishing profession (notably high catches, among others) when prompted about what makes them happy (Miñarro et al 2021 ).…”

“…The purpose of fishing is primarily for sale, although fishermen tend to keep a small part of the catch for family consumption, and some of it is destined for export. This study is part of a broader research project for which the lead author spent several weeks living in each of the studied communities, coordinating the research team and interviewing key informants (Miñarro et al 2021 ). The information in this section comes from field diaries and own ethnographic data collected in the framework of this work, combined with published literature when available.…”

“…To record their affect, participants were offered a list of positive emotions ( Happy / Smiling / Well / Satisfied ), negative emotions ( Angry/Anxious/Worried/Not good at all/Scared ), and physical states ( Hungry/Thirsty/Ill/Sick/Tired ), and they could choose as many as they felt fit their current state or respond freely with emotions not present on the list. The list was developed before going to the field based on common pleasant and unpleasant emotions (Diener 2009 ) and refined during a pilot study with small-scale fishers in the Solomon Islands (Miñarro et al 2021 ). During pilot testing, several respondents alluded to physical states when asked “What are you feeling right now?”, so the option of answering with physical needs was added.…”

“…Fishers seem to have adapted to the risks of the fishing profession -one of the most dangerous occupations in the world (Kaplan and Kite-Powell 2000 ; Håvold 2010 ), and have reported feeling a thrill that fulfills their fundamental need for adventure (Pollnac and Poggie 2008 ). Furthermore, people in small-scale fishing communities have cited fishing among the top things that bring them most happiness (Miñarro et al 2021 ). These results could be assumed to imply that catching more fish would yield more positive emotions (e.g., pride, happiness), and thus greater fishing effort would bring greater well-being to small-scale fishing communities.…”