From market needs to human needs: Spain and the economic crisis

Jorge Guardiola () and Monica Guillen-Royo ()
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Jorge Guardiola: Universidad de Granada. Department of Applied Economics
Monica Guillen-Royo: University of Oslo. Centre for Development and Environment

No 02/13, FEG Working Paper Series from Faculty of Economics and Business (University of Granada)

Abstract: The 2008 financial crisis hit the world’s economies in different ways. In Spain, the economic crisis has had an acute effect on unemployment and access to health care and education, aggravated by the austerity plans of the Spanish government. In order to cope with the crisis, government efforts have aimed to control public deficit and stabilize financial markets, rather than directly support citizens’ wellbeing. In this context, the paper uses a subjective wellbeing (SWB) approach to study the relationship between the socioeconomic aspects most influenced by the crisis and the wellbeing of Spaniards. In order to do so, we use representative data from households in Granada in 2012. The city has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, which has more than doubled since the beginning of the crisis. Regression analysis using three different SWB indicators as dependent variables reveals that unemployment and higher education are strong determinants of SWB, particularly regarding the perceived satisfaction of material needs. In this context of crisis, income has a weak and non robust relationship with SWB, except in the case of satisfying material needs. In the light of the empirical results, we propose that in order to maintain quality of life in Spain, policy interventions should focus more on social policies, such as reducing unemployment and keeping people in education, than on meeting the requirements of the financial markets.

Keywords: Economic crisis; happiness; subjective wellbeing; basic needs; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I30 I31 J60 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19 pages
Date: 2013-11-02
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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