Publication:
Urban or Rural: Where are people happier and why?

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2021
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Instituto Complutense de Estudios Internacionales (ICEI)
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Using data from a worldwide sample, we investigate how happy people look like and if these “happiness characteristics” are more present in big urban towns or in small rural villages. We found evidence that (i) people seem to be slightly happier in rural settlements, (ii) happier people have some particular characteristics (e.g., higher levels of trust in others and being more interested in politics) and (iii) these positive attitudes are slightly more present in rural contexts. Then, we discuss some conceivable explanations to what we have seen.
Utilizando datos de una muestra mundial, investigamos cómo es la gente feliz y si estas “características de felicidad” están más presentes en las grandes ciudades urbanas o en los pequeños pueblos rurales. Encontramos pruebas de que (i) la gente parece ser ligeramente más feliz en los asentamientos rurales, (ii) las personas más felices tienen algunas características particulares (por ejemplo, mayores niveles de confianza en los demás y estar más interesados en la política) y (iii) estas actitudes positivas están ligeramente más presentes en los contextos rurales. A continuación, se discuten algunas explicaciones concebibles a lo que hemos visto.
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