Graduation Year
2025
Date of Submission
4-2025
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
International Relations
Reader 1
Hilary Appel
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2025 Mateo B Colbert
Abstract
This paper analyzes whether the objective indicators, health, governance, education, poverty, and marriage, explain cross-national differences in subjective well-being (SWB). It employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions. Three global SWB indices are compared to the objective indicators: the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, and the Happy Planet Index. The goal is to reveal which objective indicators are most consistently significant in relation to SWB rankings, and which show weaker and inconsistent relationships. Despite the imperfect nature of SWB measures, this paper explores whether they can still be meaningfully tied to societal conditions. This analysis contributes to the broader debate on measuring happiness
Recommended Citation
Colbert, Mateo Buadu, "Objective Foundations of Happiness: A Cross-National Analysis of Well-Being" (2025). CMC Senior Theses. 4041.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4041
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
