Pursuit of Happiness in Consumer Society: A Study on OECD Countries and Türkiye

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 18 Sayı: 1, 60 - 71, 26.07.2024

İlknur Külekçi

https://doi.org/10.46520/bddkdergisi.1525915

Öz

Understanding the relationship between societal consumption desires and happiness levels contributes
to the development of economic policies aimed at enhancing welfare. Therefore, this study, which
investigates the relationship between consumption and happiness, consists of two stages. In the first
stage, the happiness of economic units is measured by the Happiness Index, and consumption data is
represented by the ratio of household disposable income to expenditures as provided by the OECD.
Granger Causality Analysis was applied to data from 30 OECD countries, including Turkey, with continuous
data availability for the period 2018-2021. The findings indicate no significant causality relationship. In the
second stage, the relationship between consumption desires and happiness of economic units in Turkey
was investigated using simple regression analysis. The results suggest that a 1% increase in consumption
leads to an approximate 0,00287 unit decrease in happiness, indicating that an increase in the propensity
to consume is associated with a decline in happiness levels. Consequently, this study finds no causality
between happiness and consumption in OECD countries, while in Turkey, societal consumption desires
negatively impact happiness. The findings are expected to contribute depth to the existing literature.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Happiness, Consumption, Granger causality analysis, Regression analysis

Tüketim Toplumunda Mutluluğun Peşinde: OECD Ülkeleri ve Türkiye Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Öz

Toplumun tüketim isteği ile mutluluk düzeyi arasındaki ilişkinin anlaşılması, refah seviyesini yükseltmeye
yönelik ekonomi politikalarının geliştirilmesine katkı sağlayacaktır. Bu nedenle tüketim ve mutluluk
arasındaki ilişkinin araştırıldığı bu çalışma iki aşamadan oluşmaktadır. Birinci aşamada ekonomik birimlerin
mutlululuğu Mutluluk Endeksi, tüketim verileri ise OECD tarafından açıklanan hanehalkının harcanabilir
gelirinin harcamalarına olan oranı kullanılarak Granger Nedensellik Analizi uygulanmıştır. Kesintisiz verilerine
ulaşılabilen Türkiye dahil olmak üzere 30 adet OECD ülkesinin, 2018-2021 dönemi esas alınmış ve anlamlı
bir nedensellik ilişkisi olmadığı görülmüştür. İkinci aşamada Türkiye’deki ekonomik birimlerin tüketim isteği
ile mutlulukları arasındaki ilişki basit regresyon yöntemiyle araştırılmış ve tüketimdeki %1'lik bir artış için
mutluluğun yaklaşık 0,00287 birim azalışa neden olurken, tüketim eğiliminin artması durumunda mutluluk
düzeyinin azaldığı görülmüştür. Sonuç olarak bu çalışmada OECD ülkelerinin mutluluğu ve tüketimi arasında
nedensellik ilişkisine rastlanmazken ve Türkiye’de toplumun tüketim isteğinin mutluluğunu negatif yönde
etkilediği tespit edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulguların literatüre derinlik katması beklenmektedir.

Kaynakça

• 1. Ahuvia, A. C., & Friedman, D. C. (1998). Income, consumption, and subjective well-being: Toward a composite macromarketing model. Journal of Macromarketing, 18(2), 153-168.
• 2. Aknin, L. B., Wiwad, D., & Hanniball, K. B. (2018). Buying well-being: Spending behavior and happiness. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 12(5), e12386.
• 3. Blanchflower, D. G. (2008). Happiness economics. NBER Reporter Online, 2, 7-10.
• 4. Bulut, H. (2020). The construction of a composite index for general satisfaction in Turkey and the investigation of its determinants. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 71, 100811- 100811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2020.100811
• 5. De Meza, D., Irlenbusch, B., & Reyniers, D. (2008). Financial capability: A behavioural economics perspective. Consumer Research, 69, 192-193.
• 6. Dehejia, R., DeLeire, T., & Luttmer, E. F. (2007). Insuring consumption and happiness through religious organizations. Journal of Public Economics, 91(1-2), 259-279.
• 7. De Leire, T., & Kalil, A. (2010). Does consumption buy happiness? Evidence from the United States. International Review of Economics, 57, 163-176.
• 8. Diamond, P. A. (2008). Behavioral Economics. MIT Department of Economics Working Paper, 08-03. 9. Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2002). Will money increase subjective well-being?. Social indicators research, 57, 119-169.
• 10. Dumludag, D. (2015). Consumption and life satisfaction at different levels of economic development. International Review of Economics, 62, 163-182.
• 11. Gökdemir, O. (2015). Consumption, savings and life satisfaction: The Turkish case. International Review of Economics, 62, 183-196.
• 12. Graham, C. (2005). The economics of happiness. World economics, 6(3), 41-55.
• 13. Güven, C. (2012). Reversing the question: Does happiness affect consumption and savings behavior? Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(4), 701-717.
• 14. Hornung, B. R. (2006). Happiness and the pursuit of happiness: A sociocybernetic approach. Kybernetes, 35(3/4), 323-346.
• 15. Myers, D. (2000). Hope and happiness. In: Gillham J.E. (Ed.) The Science of Optimism and Hope. Philadelphia PA: Templeton Foundation Press, pp. 323–336.
• 16. O’Connor, K. J. (2017). Happiness and welfare state policy around the world. Review of Behavioral Economics, 4(4), 397-420.
• 17. Rojas, M., Méndez, A., & Watkins-Fassler, K. (2023). The hierarchy of needs empirical examination of Maslow’s theory and lessons for development. World Development, 165, 106185.
• 18. Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction (Vol. 55, No. 1, p. 5). American Psychological Association.
• 19. Schor, J. (1999). The new politics of consumption. Boston Review, 24(3-4), 4-9.
• 20. Scitovsky, T. (1992). The joyless economy: The psychology of human satisfaction. Oxford University Press, USA.
• 21. Stanca, L., & Veenhoven, R. (2015). Consumption and happiness: An introduction. International Review of Economics, 62, 91-99.
• 22. Van Boven, L. (2005). Experientialism, materialism, and the pursuit of happiness. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 132-142.
• 23. Veenhoven, R., Chiperi, F., Kang, X., & Burger, M. (2021). Happiness and consumption: A research synthesis using an online finding archive. Sage Open, 11(1), 2158244020986239.
• 24. World Happiness Report. (2023). Erişim tarihi: 10 Ekim 2023. https://worldhappiness.report/