The role of prosociality and social capital in changes in subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

Yuta Kuroda, Takaki Sato and Yasumasa Matsuda

No 142, DSSR Discussion Papers from Graduate School of Economics and Management, Tohoku University

Abstract: This study examines the role of local social capital, individual personality, and their interaction on changes in subjective well-being (SWB) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our estimations use tracking panel data based on a unique survey of approximately 25,000 people in Japan from 2019 to 2022. The results show that before the pandemic, individuals with high prosociality had higher SWB, whereas individuals with low and moderate levels of prosociality had no significant difference in SWB. Additionally, the relationship between individual prosociality and local social capital did not affect SWB. However, after the pandemic, the SWB of non-prosocial individuals changed heterogeneously depending on the level of local social capital. Non-prosocial individuals in areas with high social capital showed little change in SWB, whereas non-prosocial individuals in areas with low social capital showed significantly decreased SWB. These results may be caused by the possibility of free-riding on the reduced risk of infection due to the preventive actions of others in areas with high social capital.

Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2024-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hap and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:toh:dssraa:142

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