Urbanization and Subjective Well-Being
27
latter, resulting in a widening of the differences, in terms of average income and
occupation, between the two macro-areas. The research hypothesis tested is whether
the association between urbanization and SWB was constant over the time span
considered and in the two parts of the countries.
Results showed that the urban/rural divide in SWB is not constant, which suggests
once more that urbanization is not a source of dissatisfaction per se; rather, the
combination of positive and negative externalities and their impact on perceived
well-being do indeed vary over time. Moreover, our findings showed that the negative
association of urbanization and SWB concerns only large cities in southern Italy
from 1990 onwards, i.e. when their gap in economic growth compared to northern
regions started to widen. This suggests, consistently with the implications about
Romania discussed above, that the urban/rural divide arises when the most urbanized
settings are less effective in providing the expected positive externalities (mainly job
opportunities) to the resident population.
5 Conclusions
The research program on urbanization and SWB led to some relevant and innovative
conclusions along the three research lines discussed in the previous section.
Summing up, the main finding from these studies is that urbanization is not, per
se, a source of dissatisfaction, just as much as living in a rural area cannot be said
to be beneficial for individuals’ well-being. This conclusion is extremely relevant in
a literature often marked by a simplistic, if not ideological, dichotomy between the
city and the countryside.
A much higher degree of complexity characterizes the mechanisms associating
with one’s own place of residence and SWB. The research program identified three
elements of complexity: the kind of externalities generated by cities, the spatial
accessibility to these externalities and the temporal dimension.
References
Christaller, W. (1933). Die zentralen Orte in Süddeutschland: eine ökonomisch-geographische
Untersuchung über die Gesetzmässigkeit der Verbreitung und Entwicklung der Siedlungen mit
städtischen Funktionen. University Microfilms.
Easterlin, R. A. (1973). Does money buy happiness? The public interest, 30, 3.
Ferrara. A. R., Nisticò, R., & Lombardo, R. (2019). Subjective and objective well-being: Bridging
the gap. Scienze Regionali – Italian Journal of Regional Science, 18(3s): 35–70.
Graham, C. (2012). Happiness around the world: The paradox of happy peasants and miserable
millionaires. Oxford University Press.
Lenzi, C., & Perucca, G. (2016a). Life satisfaction across cities: Evidence from Romania. The
Journal of Development Studies, 52(7), 1062–1077.
Lenzi, C., & Perucca, G. (2016b). Life satisfaction in Romanian cities on the road from postcommunism transition to EU accession. Region: The Journal of ERSA, 3(2), 1–22.
27
latter, resulting in a widening of the differences, in terms of average income and
occupation, between the two macro-areas. The research hypothesis tested is whether
the association between urbanization and SWB was constant over the time span
considered and in the two parts of the countries.
Results showed that the urban/rural divide in SWB is not constant, which suggests
once more that urbanization is not a source of dissatisfaction per se; rather, the
combination of positive and negative externalities and their impact on perceived
well-being do indeed vary over time. Moreover, our findings showed that the negative
association of urbanization and SWB concerns only large cities in southern Italy
from 1990 onwards, i.e. when their gap in economic growth compared to northern
regions started to widen. This suggests, consistently with the implications about
Romania discussed above, that the urban/rural divide arises when the most urbanized
settings are less effective in providing the expected positive externalities (mainly job
opportunities) to the resident population.
5 Conclusions
The research program on urbanization and SWB led to some relevant and innovative
conclusions along the three research lines discussed in the previous section.
Summing up, the main finding from these studies is that urbanization is not, per
se, a source of dissatisfaction, just as much as living in a rural area cannot be said
to be beneficial for individuals’ well-being. This conclusion is extremely relevant in
a literature often marked by a simplistic, if not ideological, dichotomy between the
city and the countryside.
A much higher degree of complexity characterizes the mechanisms associating
with one’s own place of residence and SWB. The research program identified three
elements of complexity: the kind of externalities generated by cities, the spatial
accessibility to these externalities and the temporal dimension.
References
Christaller, W. (1933). Die zentralen Orte in Süddeutschland: eine ökonomisch-geographische
Untersuchung über die Gesetzmässigkeit der Verbreitung und Entwicklung der Siedlungen mit
städtischen Funktionen. University Microfilms.
Easterlin, R. A. (1973). Does money buy happiness? The public interest, 30, 3.
Ferrara. A. R., Nisticò, R., & Lombardo, R. (2019). Subjective and objective well-being: Bridging
the gap. Scienze Regionali – Italian Journal of Regional Science, 18(3s): 35–70.
Graham, C. (2012). Happiness around the world: The paradox of happy peasants and miserable
millionaires. Oxford University Press.
Lenzi, C., & Perucca, G. (2016a). Life satisfaction across cities: Evidence from Romania. The
Journal of Development Studies, 52(7), 1062–1077.
Lenzi, C., & Perucca, G. (2016b). Life satisfaction in Romanian cities on the road from postcommunism transition to EU accession. Region: The Journal of ERSA, 3(2), 1–22.