People Are Happier Living in Countries Where Governments Spend More on Social Services

The study was conducted by researchers from Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences. For the study, researchers analyzed data from 21 advanced industrialized countries collected by the World Values Survey from 1981 to 2007 with nearly 50,000 respondents.

"The effect of state intervention into the economy equals or exceeds marriage or employment status - two traditional predictors of happiness - when it comes to satisfaction," said Patrick Flavin, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences, in a press statement. "We assessed respondents' subjective well-being using a very straightforward question: 'All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?'"

On a scale of 1 to 10, the average rating for all respondents for the duration of the survey was 7.48. The United States was ranked at No. 11 out of 21 countries on the list, with an average rating of 7.61. Researchers used four different measurements to rank the governments. This included the overall size of government consumption as a percentage of national gross domestic product, social welfare expenditures, welfare states generosity and labor market regulations.

"Are we saying we need a bigger government to be happier? No. Instead, our goal is to objectively examine the data and let people draw their own conclusions," the study authors said. "If anything, this study is a conversation-starter about what role we envision for government in our lives and the advantages and disadvantages of government intervention into the market economy."

The list of countries with the most satisfied residents reads as such:

1. Denmark: 8.20

2. Switzerland: 8.10

3. Iceland: 8.04

4. Ireland: 7.95

5. Austria: 7.95

6. Finland: 7.82

7. Sweden: 7.82

8. Canada: 7.82

9. Norway: 7.78

10. Netherlands: 7.76

11. United States: 7.61

12. Australia: 7.58

13. Great Britain: 7.51

14. Belgium: 7.49

15. Germany: 7.08

16. Italy: 7.05

17. Portugal: 7.05

18. Spain: 6.96

19. France: 6.85

20. Greece: 6.67

The study was published online in the journal Social Forces.

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