Big-city life (dis)satisfaction? The effect of urban living on subjective well-being

David Loschiavo

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2021, vol. 192, issue C, 740-764

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of big-city life on individuals’ well-being. Combining data on Italian municipalities’ characteristics with individual-level survey data, I find that big city dwellers feel worse off. This association is not driven by omitted variable bias or by spatial sorting of citizens. Commute time accounts for most of the differences in subjective well-being among cities of different sizes. There is suggestive evidence that the negative effect of commuting on well-being stems from the reduced time availability for fostering personal relationships and engaging in leisure activities.

Keywords: Subjective well-being; Urbanisation; Commute time (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D60 H54 I31 J61 R23 R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Working Paper: Big-city life (dis)satisfaction? The effect of living in urban areas on subjective well-being (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:192:y:2021:i:c:p:740-764

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.10.028

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