Anatomy of Brazil’s Subjective Well-Being : A Tale of Growing Discontent and Polarization in the 2010s
After increasing for years and reaching high levels, Brazil’s subjective well-being deteriorated following the economic contraction in 2015. Using data from the Gallup World Poll for the 2010s, this paper identifies the factors that underpin Brazil...
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/862711643830811020/Anatomy-of-Brazil-s-Subjective-Well-Being-A-Tale-of-Growing-Discontent-and-Polarization-in-the-2010s http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36925 |
| Summary: | After increasing for years and
reaching high levels, Brazil’s subjective well-being
deteriorated following the economic contraction in 2015.
Using data from the Gallup World Poll for the 2010s, this
paper identifies the factors that underpin Brazil’s
subjective well-being and its change, paying special
attention to heterogeneity across population groups. Having
sufficient income, financial security, economic optimism,
satisfaction with living standards and health services,
social capital, tertiary education, and digital access are
the main factors associated with subjective well-being.
These factors matter to different extents along the income
distribution and across generations and space. The decline
in subjective well-being since 2015 was heterogeneous and
more pronounced among men, rural residents, and the old.
Economic expectations increased in importance as they
assumed a greater role in people’s preferences, especially
those of men, and more people grew pessimistic about the
economic outlook. The decline in subjective well-being and
the switch in voter support from one end of the political
spectrum to the other in the 2018 general elections were
both associated with the grievances triggered by the
economic and leadership crisis of the mid-2010s. These
grievances signal an erosion in the support for the social
contract in place since the 1990s and the need to renew it. |
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