Well-being and climate change: Evidence for Portugal
Keywords:
Climate, Extreme, Region, Flood, Fire
Abstract
This paper analyses the impact of air pollution, climate conditions, and extreme weather events on subjective well-being in Portugal, based on a regional analysis, through the estimation of an ordered probit model. The estimation applies data at the individual level from the 8th and 9th waves of the European Social Survey, along with an air quality indicator, environmental variables, national forest inventory, and a study about the possible future effects of the sea-level rise on vulnerable areas and people living therein. Even after controlling for socio-economic variables and personal traits, the results suggest the existence of differences between regional welfare levels. Air pollution has a negative impact on life satisfaction due to its bad impacts on health (aggravating the condition of individuals with heart and lung diseases). The paper’s key finding is to show that at the regional level, both past (forest fires) and «possible» future (floods due to sea-level rise) extreme weather events may impact the current welfare level. Also, assessments of implicit willingness do to pay demonstrate that climate change effects have a relevant impact on their quality of life nowadays.
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References
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30. Luechinger, S. (2009). Valuing Air Quality Using the Life Satisfaction Approach. The Economic Journal, 119 (536), 482–515. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02241.x
31. MacKerron, G. and Mourato, S. (2009). Life satisfaction and air quality in London. Ecological Economics. Vol. 68, 1441-1453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.10.004
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33. Maddala, G. (1983). Limited Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics. New York, Cambridge University Press.
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40. Rocha, C. S. (2016). Study and analysis of coastal vulnerability in the face of scenarios of rising average sea level and extreme events due to the effect of climate changes. 112 p. Dissertation. Supervisors: Antunes, C.M.C. and Catita, C.M.S. Master in Geographic Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geographic Engineering, Geophysics and Energy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon. Available in:. Access in: March/2021.
41. Sekulova, F. and van den Bergh, J.C.J.M (2013). Climate change, income and happiness: An empirical study for Barcelona. Global Environmental Change. Vol. 23, 1467–1475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.07.025
42. Smyth, R., Mishra, V. and Qian, X. (2008). The Environment and Well-Being in Urban China. Ecological Economics. Vol. 68, 547-555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.05.017
43. Soukiaviz, E. and Ramos, S. (2016). The Structure of Subjective Well-Being and Its Determinants: A Micro-Data Study for Portugal. Social Indicators Research. Vol. 126, 1375–1399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0938-1
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46. Welsch, H. (2002). Preferences over Prosperity and Pollution: Environmental Valuation based on Happiness Surveys. Kyklos. Vol. 55, 473-494. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6435.00198
47. Welsch, H. (2006). Environment and happiness: Valuation of air pollution using life satisfaction data. Ecological Economics. Vol. 58, 801-813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.09.006
48. Welsch, H. and Kühling, J. (2009). Using happiness data for environmental valuation: Issues and applications. Journal of Economic Surveys. Vol. 23, 385–406. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2008.00566.x
49. Welsch, H. and Kühling, J. (2018). How green self-image is related to subjective well-being: Pro- Environmental Values as a Social Norm. Ecological Economics. Vol. 149, 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.002
50. Wilson, E.O. (1984). Biophilia. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts.
2. Ambrey, C.L., Fleming, C.M. & Chan, A.Y.C. (2014). Estimating the cost of air pollution in South East Queensland: An application of the life satisfaction non-market valuation approach. Ecological Economics. Vol. 97, 172–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.11.007
3. Antunes, C.M.C. (2016). Rising Average Sea Level in Cascais, revision of the current rate. 4th Journey of Hydrographic Engineering, Lisbon, 21-23. https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JCLI4045.1
4. Apergis, N. (2018). The Impact of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Personal Well-Being: Evidence from a Panel of 58 Countries and Aggregate and Regional Country Samples. Journal of Happiness Studies. Vol. 19, 69-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9809-y
5. Brereton, F.; Clinch, J.P. and Ferreira, S. (2008). Happiness, Geography and the Environment. Ecological Economics. Vol. 56, 386-396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.07.008
6. Cameron, A. and Miller, D. (2015). A practitioner’s guide to cluster-robust inference. Journal of Human Resources. Vol. 50 (2), 317–372, 2015.
7. Clark, A.E., Frijters, P. and Shields, M. (2008). Relative income, happiness and utility: an explanation for the Easterlin paradox and other puzzles. Journal of Economic Literature. Vol. 46, Issue 1, 95–144. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.46.1.95
8. Clark, A.E. and Oswald, A.J. (1994). Unhappiness and unemployment. Economic Journal. Vol. 104, 648–659. https://doi.org/10.2307/2234639
9. Clark, A.E. and Oswald, A.J. (1996). Satisfaction and comparison income. Journal of Public Economics. Vol. 61, 359–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2727(95)01564-7
10. Cramer, V., Torgersen, S. and Kringlen, E. (2004). Quality of life in a city: the effect of population density. Social Indicators Research. Vol. 69, 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000032663.59079.0b
11. Cuñado, J. and Gracia, F.P. (2013). Environment and Happiness: New Evidence for Spain. Social Indicators Research. Vol. 112, 549-567. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0038-4
12. Di Tella, R., MacCulloch, R.J. and Oswald, A.J. (2001). Preferences over Inflation and Unemployment: Evidence from Surveys of Happiness. The American Economic Review. Vol. 91, 335–341. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.1.335
13. Di Tella, R., MacCulloch, R. J. and Oswald, A. (2003). The macroeconomics of happiness. The Review of Economics and Statistics. Vol. 85, 809–827. https://doi.org/10.1162/003465303772815745
14. Diener, E. (2009). Subjective well-being. In: Diener, E. (Ed.), The science of well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. Social indicators research series. Vol. 37. Springer Science + Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2350-6
15. Diener, E., Suh, E.M., Lucas, R.E. and Smith, H.L. (1999). Subjective well-being: three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin. Vol. 125, 276–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276
16. Ding, J., Salinas-Jiménez, J. and Salinas-Jiménez, M. del M. (2021). The impact of income inequality on subjective well‑being: the case of China. Journal of Happiness Studies. Vol. 22, 845–866. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00254-4
17. Dolan, P., Peasgood, T. and White, M. (2008). Do we really know what makes us happy? A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being. Journal of Economic Psychology. Vol. 29(1), 94–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2007.09.001
18. EEA – European Environment Agency. (2021). Air quality index. Available in:
19. ESS – European Social Survey. (2021). NSD - Norwegian Centre for Research Data, Norway – Data Archive and distributor of ESS data for ESS ERIC. Available in:
20. Ferreira, S., Akay, A., Brereton, F., Cuñado, J. and Martinsson, P. (2013). Life satisfaction and air quality in Europe. Ecological Economics. Vol. 88, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.12.027
21. Ferreira, S. and Moro, M. (2010). On the use of subjective well-being data for environmental valuation. Environmental and Resource Economics. Vol. 46(3), 249–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-009-9339-8
22. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. and Frijters, P. (2004). How important is methodology for the estimates of the determinants of happiness? Economic Journal. Vol. 114, 641–659. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2004.00235.x
23. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. and Gowdy, J.M. (2007). Environmental Degradation and Happiness. Ecological Economics. Vol. 60, 509-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.12.005
24. Frey, B., Luechinger, S. and Stutzer, A. (2010). The life satisfaction approach to environmental valuation. Ann. Rev. Resour. Econ. 2, 139–160.
25. Frey, B.S. and Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature. Vol. 40, 402–435.
26. ICNF - Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests. (2021). Available in:
27. IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014). Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1132 p.
28. Kellert, S.R. (2008). In: Dimensions, elements, and attributes of Biophilic design. Kellert, S.R., Heerwagen, J.H. and Mador, M.L. (Eds.), Biophilic Design: The theory, Science, and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life. John Wiley and Sons, New Jersey, U.S.A.
29. Layard, R. (2005). Happiness: Lessons from a new science. London: Allen Lane.
30. Luechinger, S. (2009). Valuing Air Quality Using the Life Satisfaction Approach. The Economic Journal, 119 (536), 482–515. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02241.x
31. MacKerron, G. and Mourato, S. (2009). Life satisfaction and air quality in London. Ecological Economics. Vol. 68, 1441-1453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.10.004
32. MacKerron, G. and Mourato, S. (2013). Happiness is greater in natural environments. Global Environmental Change. Vol. 23, 992-1000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.03.010
33. Maddala, G. (1983). Limited Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics. New York, Cambridge University Press.
34. NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2021). Global Climate Change. Vital signs of the planet, Sea Level. Available in: < https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/> Acess in: March/2021.
35. National Statistics Institute - NSI. (2021). Available in:
36. Osberghaus, D. and Kühling, J. (2016). Direct and indirect effects of weather experiences on life satisfaction – which role for climate change expectations? Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. Vol. 59, n. 12, 2198-2230. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2016.1139490
37. Portuguese Environment Agency - PEA. (2021). Available in:
38. Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere - PISA. (2021). Available in:
39. Rehdanz, K. and Maddison, D. (2005). Climate and Happiness. Ecological Economics. Vol. 52, 111-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004.06.015
40. Rocha, C. S. (2016). Study and analysis of coastal vulnerability in the face of scenarios of rising average sea level and extreme events due to the effect of climate changes. 112 p. Dissertation. Supervisors: Antunes, C.M.C. and Catita, C.M.S. Master in Geographic Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geographic Engineering, Geophysics and Energy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon. Available in:
41. Sekulova, F. and van den Bergh, J.C.J.M (2013). Climate change, income and happiness: An empirical study for Barcelona. Global Environmental Change. Vol. 23, 1467–1475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.07.025
42. Smyth, R., Mishra, V. and Qian, X. (2008). The Environment and Well-Being in Urban China. Ecological Economics. Vol. 68, 547-555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.05.017
43. Soukiaviz, E. and Ramos, S. (2016). The Structure of Subjective Well-Being and Its Determinants: A Micro-Data Study for Portugal. Social Indicators Research. Vol. 126, 1375–1399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0938-1
44. StataCorp. (2019). Stata Statistical Software: Release 16. College Station, TX: StataCorp LL
45. Veenhoven, R. (1997). Advances in understanding happiness. Revue Québécoise de Psychologie. Vol. 18, 29-74.
46. Welsch, H. (2002). Preferences over Prosperity and Pollution: Environmental Valuation based on Happiness Surveys. Kyklos. Vol. 55, 473-494. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6435.00198
47. Welsch, H. (2006). Environment and happiness: Valuation of air pollution using life satisfaction data. Ecological Economics. Vol. 58, 801-813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.09.006
48. Welsch, H. and Kühling, J. (2009). Using happiness data for environmental valuation: Issues and applications. Journal of Economic Surveys. Vol. 23, 385–406. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2008.00566.x
49. Welsch, H. and Kühling, J. (2018). How green self-image is related to subjective well-being: Pro- Environmental Values as a Social Norm. Ecological Economics. Vol. 149, 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.002
50. Wilson, E.O. (1984). Biophilia. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts.
Published
2022-07-31
How to Cite
Souza-Jr., A. J. A. (2022). Well-being and climate change: Evidence for Portugal. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 18(23), 15. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2022.v18n23p15
Section
ESJ Humanities
Copyright (c) 2022 Ary José A. Souza-Jr.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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