Happinomics among Factors of Production using a Principal Component Analysis Approach: A Case Study of Labour and Entrepreneurs’ Subjective Happiness in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Amidst the recent global financial crisis, there is a surge of interest in happiness. All of us want to have satisfying lives. Yet, not everybody is happy, even among the wealthy. Believing that happiness lies through the satisfaction of physical desires and material possessions, many individuals work hard to earn income, often at the expense of leisure and good social relationships. This paper examines the determinants of subjective well-being of entrepreneurs and workers as a group in a South African province, using the principal component approach. Various components emerged as happiness--influencing factors, jointly explaining about 70 per cent of the variation in self-reported well-being. These sets are related to asset ownership, family togetherness and personal attributes, household characteristics, human and social capital, future financial security (pension), work relationships, and community involvement. Religion and creativity account for almost a tenth of the variation in subjective well-being. Income is relevant but not found to be the main determinant of a satisfying life.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n4p99