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Power Distance Moderates the Relation Between Income Inequality and Life Satisfaction: A Cross-Country Longitudinal
Kodai Kusano1, Laura Giuntoli1, Anne Maass1
1New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|December 18, 2024
Summary
Rising income inequality decreases life satisfaction within countries. However, cultural factors like power distance determine if inequality impacts happiness between nations, with low power distance societies showing negative effects.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- The link between income inequality and life satisfaction is inconsistent across global studies.
- Previous research has not fully distinguished between within-country and between-country effects of inequality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the within-country and between-country effects of income inequality on life satisfaction.
- To explore cultural moderators, specifically power distance, in the relationship between inequality and life satisfaction.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multilevel analyses on Gallup World Poll data from over 110 countries (2006-2022), encompassing nearly two million respondents.
- Examined temporal changes in inequality within countries and compared inequality levels between countries.
- Controlled for national wealth and individualism, and tested power distance as a moderator.
Main Results:
- A significant within-country effect was found: increasing income inequality correlates with decreased life satisfaction.
- Between-country, power distance significantly moderates the inequality-life satisfaction link.
- In low power distance societies, higher inequality predicts lower life satisfaction; this effect is absent in high power distance societies.
Conclusions:
- Temporal increases in income inequality negatively impact life satisfaction within nations.
- Cultural context, particularly power distance, is crucial for understanding cross-national variations in the effects of inequality.
- Findings offer a nuanced interpretation resolving prior inconsistencies in global research on inequality and well-being.
Keywords:
Gallup World Polleconomic inequalityhybrid regressionsincome inequalitylife satisfactionpower distanceMore Related Videos
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