Drivers of Subjective Well-being in Spain: Are There Gender Differences?

Abstract This paper explores the main drivers of subjective well-being(SWB) in Spain. Following current descriptions of SWB, the influence of a set of sociodemographic, material conditions and quality of life variables is empirically tested. The data come from a survey covering around 13,000 households and 35,000 individuals. The results show a very strong influence of material conditions on perceived SWB. Namely, the variable “income and wealth” is found to be the single major driver of satisfaction with life in the sample. Social connections, housing, and health status also emerge as very relevant drivers. Regarding the gender implications of SWB, our results show a paradoxical reality. On average, women score significantly lower than men in material conditions and quality of life variables, but they obtain significantly higher levels of SWB. Knowing the relevance of the different drivers of SWB may be helpful for the construction of composite indicators. We find that a SWB construct that includes only the most relevant drivers identified is a better predictor of actual SWB than the one that includes all the information available.