Mikko Weckroth | University of Helsinki (original) (raw)
Papers by Mikko Weckroth
Living in a country’s largest metropolitan centre has a negative effect on subjective well-being.... more Living in a country’s largest metropolitan centre has a negative effect on subjective well-being. Although documented in many developed economies, the reasons for this particular geography of well-being are still poorly understood. Meanwhile a separate body of research has shown that the holding of extrinsic or personally focused values is also associated with lower levels of subjective well-being. This paper demonstrates the link between the two. It draws on the European Social
Survey (ESS) 2012 to show how metropolitan residents in Finland are more likely to hold extrinsic values such as power and achievement.
KEYWORDS
human values; value dissonance; subjective well-being; life satisfaction; Finland
Life satisfaction is an understudied topic in literature on socioeconomic stratification. Using t... more Life satisfaction is an understudied topic in literature on socioeconomic stratification. Using the European Social Survey data, this study concentrates on the recent economic recession in Ireland, and the socioeconomic stratification of life satisfaction before and during economic crisis. We measure stratification multidimensionally using education, occupational social class and income. The results show that the effects of the crisis, which peaked in 2010 in terms of both GDP and life satisfaction, are not experienced equally within the population. Lower strata (lowest income quartile, manual workers and those with basic education at most) are more affected. In the pre-crisis period, life satisfaction appeared to be stratified mostly by income, which was due to the experience of economic hardship. However, during the crisis stratification of life satisfaction took a more complex and deeper form and also basic education and manual labour then began to explain lower life satisfaction.
Life satisfaction is an understudied topic in literature on socio-economic stratification. Using ... more Life satisfaction is an understudied topic in literature on socio-economic stratification. Using the European Social Survey data, this study concentrates on the recent economic recession in Ireland, and the socio-economic stratification of life satisfaction before and during economic crisis. We measure stratification multidimensionally using education,
occupational social class and income. The results show that the effects of the crisis, which peaked in 2010 in terms of both GDP and life satisfaction, are not experienced equally within the population. Lower strata (lowest income quartile, manual workers and those with basic education at most) are more affected. In the pre-crisis period, life
satisfaction appeared to be stratified mostly by income, which was due to the experience of economic hardship. However, during the crisis stratification of life satisfaction took a more complex and deeper form and also basic education and manual labour then began to explain lower life satisfaction.
prres.net
This paper compares public-led urban development processes in Victoria, Australia and in Sweden a... more This paper compares public-led urban development processes in Victoria, Australia and in Sweden and Finland, both located in Scandinavia. Despite the long distance between Victoria and Scandinavia, the areas have a lot in common in urban development processes and legislation; and share also characters of New Public Management (NPM). Both Victoria and Scandinavian countries seek actively ecological sustainability in urban development, but lean mostly on private companies to deliver the development.
This study examines the cross-sectional association of three value orientations (self-direction, ... more This study examines the cross-sectional association of three value orientations (self-direction, achievement
and power) and level of gross domestic product (GDP) in 289 NUTS regions. Regional value aggregates,
drawn from Schwartz’s Human Value Scale included in the European Social Survey, are taken to indicate
value-based human capital. Regression analysis shows that self-direction, indicating independent
thought, action and creativity, is a strong predictor for regional GDP after controlling for standard control
variables and spatial autocorrelation. Additionally, analysis implements welfare regimes as indicators of
larger socio-historic frames and finds significant geographical variations within these frames regarding
the relationship between prevailing value climate and level of economic performance. The study contrasts
perspectives from economic geography and cultural studies to the literature on alternative definitions and
measures for human capital and argues that a synthesis of these perspectives can enrich one’s understanding
of the economic geography in Europe.
Several studies have shown that individual life satisfaction grows more slowly or even declines w... more Several studies have shown that individual life satisfaction grows more slowly or even declines with urban density and economic performance. Contribution made to this thesis here is twofold; including several measures of subjective wellbeing and ask if individuals with different educational levels will respond differently. First, results indicate that populations with and without tertiary education experience similar negative effect in life satisfaction if residing in Helsinki-Uusimaa region. However, tertiary educated gain in ‘thick relationships’ measuring the quality of ‘bonding ties’ while non-tertiary educated show significantly low scores in reciprocity in social exchange, social trust and frequency of social contact if living in urban region. Sense of competence predicts high life satisfaction for tertiary educated in urban region, while non-tertiary educated draw life satisfaction from several psychological domains. Overall, results suggest that urban life is more related to...
Most of the aggregate-level analyses of the relationship between objective and subjective measure... more Most of the aggregate-level analyses of the relationship between objective and subjective measures for well-being have limited themselves to the measures of national gross domestic product (GDP) and mean life satisfaction. We develop this line of research by embedding the analysis into the context of 289 NUTS (Nomenclature des Unités Territoriales Statistiques) regions in Europe and replacing the simple life satisfaction measure with measures of active human functioning. We suggest that the measures of personal and social well-being, as they are operationalized in the 6th Round of the European Social Survey (ESS) questionnaire, can be treated as subjective indicators for social and human capital and, thereby, can be associated with the regional level GDP in cross-sectional analysis. The empirical analysis shows that the indicator for 'social trust' appears to have a positive and significant correlation with regional GDP. The analysis also distinguishes another form of social capital; 'social contact and support', reflecting the relative frequency and quantity of social support, which also shows a positive relationship with regional GDP. Concerning subjective human capital, the strongest predictor for regional GDP appears to be the aggregated sense of 'competence and meaning' in the regions. These effects proved robust after including the objective control variables (population density, intramural research and development (R&D) expenditure, share of tertiary-educated population and employment).
Onnellisten kylät: Vertaileva tapaustutkimus Kumpulan ja Sundsbergin asukkaiden subjektiivisesta hyvinvoinnista sekä onnellisuuden rakentumisesta
The aim of this masters thesis was to examine subjective wellbeing and personal happiness. Empiri... more The aim of this masters thesis was to examine subjective wellbeing and personal happiness. Empirical study of happiness is part of broader wellbeing reseach and is based on an idea that the best experts of personal wellbeing are the individuals themselves. In addition to ...
Living in a country’s largest metropolitan centre has a negative effect on subjective well-being.... more Living in a country’s largest metropolitan centre has a negative effect on subjective well-being. Although documented in many developed economies, the reasons for this particular geography of well-being are still poorly understood. Meanwhile a separate body of research has shown that the holding of extrinsic or personally focused values is also associated with lower levels of subjective well-being. This paper demonstrates the link between the two. It draws on the European Social
Survey (ESS) 2012 to show how metropolitan residents in Finland are more likely to hold extrinsic values such as power and achievement.
KEYWORDS
human values; value dissonance; subjective well-being; life satisfaction; Finland
Life satisfaction is an understudied topic in literature on socioeconomic stratification. Using t... more Life satisfaction is an understudied topic in literature on socioeconomic stratification. Using the European Social Survey data, this study concentrates on the recent economic recession in Ireland, and the socioeconomic stratification of life satisfaction before and during economic crisis. We measure stratification multidimensionally using education, occupational social class and income. The results show that the effects of the crisis, which peaked in 2010 in terms of both GDP and life satisfaction, are not experienced equally within the population. Lower strata (lowest income quartile, manual workers and those with basic education at most) are more affected. In the pre-crisis period, life satisfaction appeared to be stratified mostly by income, which was due to the experience of economic hardship. However, during the crisis stratification of life satisfaction took a more complex and deeper form and also basic education and manual labour then began to explain lower life satisfaction.
Life satisfaction is an understudied topic in literature on socio-economic stratification. Using ... more Life satisfaction is an understudied topic in literature on socio-economic stratification. Using the European Social Survey data, this study concentrates on the recent economic recession in Ireland, and the socio-economic stratification of life satisfaction before and during economic crisis. We measure stratification multidimensionally using education,
occupational social class and income. The results show that the effects of the crisis, which peaked in 2010 in terms of both GDP and life satisfaction, are not experienced equally within the population. Lower strata (lowest income quartile, manual workers and those with basic education at most) are more affected. In the pre-crisis period, life
satisfaction appeared to be stratified mostly by income, which was due to the experience of economic hardship. However, during the crisis stratification of life satisfaction took a more complex and deeper form and also basic education and manual labour then began to explain lower life satisfaction.
prres.net
This paper compares public-led urban development processes in Victoria, Australia and in Sweden a... more This paper compares public-led urban development processes in Victoria, Australia and in Sweden and Finland, both located in Scandinavia. Despite the long distance between Victoria and Scandinavia, the areas have a lot in common in urban development processes and legislation; and share also characters of New Public Management (NPM). Both Victoria and Scandinavian countries seek actively ecological sustainability in urban development, but lean mostly on private companies to deliver the development.
This study examines the cross-sectional association of three value orientations (self-direction, ... more This study examines the cross-sectional association of three value orientations (self-direction, achievement
and power) and level of gross domestic product (GDP) in 289 NUTS regions. Regional value aggregates,
drawn from Schwartz’s Human Value Scale included in the European Social Survey, are taken to indicate
value-based human capital. Regression analysis shows that self-direction, indicating independent
thought, action and creativity, is a strong predictor for regional GDP after controlling for standard control
variables and spatial autocorrelation. Additionally, analysis implements welfare regimes as indicators of
larger socio-historic frames and finds significant geographical variations within these frames regarding
the relationship between prevailing value climate and level of economic performance. The study contrasts
perspectives from economic geography and cultural studies to the literature on alternative definitions and
measures for human capital and argues that a synthesis of these perspectives can enrich one’s understanding
of the economic geography in Europe.
Several studies have shown that individual life satisfaction grows more slowly or even declines w... more Several studies have shown that individual life satisfaction grows more slowly or even declines with urban density and economic performance. Contribution made to this thesis here is twofold; including several measures of subjective wellbeing and ask if individuals with different educational levels will respond differently. First, results indicate that populations with and without tertiary education experience similar negative effect in life satisfaction if residing in Helsinki-Uusimaa region. However, tertiary educated gain in ‘thick relationships’ measuring the quality of ‘bonding ties’ while non-tertiary educated show significantly low scores in reciprocity in social exchange, social trust and frequency of social contact if living in urban region. Sense of competence predicts high life satisfaction for tertiary educated in urban region, while non-tertiary educated draw life satisfaction from several psychological domains. Overall, results suggest that urban life is more related to...
Most of the aggregate-level analyses of the relationship between objective and subjective measure... more Most of the aggregate-level analyses of the relationship between objective and subjective measures for well-being have limited themselves to the measures of national gross domestic product (GDP) and mean life satisfaction. We develop this line of research by embedding the analysis into the context of 289 NUTS (Nomenclature des Unités Territoriales Statistiques) regions in Europe and replacing the simple life satisfaction measure with measures of active human functioning. We suggest that the measures of personal and social well-being, as they are operationalized in the 6th Round of the European Social Survey (ESS) questionnaire, can be treated as subjective indicators for social and human capital and, thereby, can be associated with the regional level GDP in cross-sectional analysis. The empirical analysis shows that the indicator for 'social trust' appears to have a positive and significant correlation with regional GDP. The analysis also distinguishes another form of social capital; 'social contact and support', reflecting the relative frequency and quantity of social support, which also shows a positive relationship with regional GDP. Concerning subjective human capital, the strongest predictor for regional GDP appears to be the aggregated sense of 'competence and meaning' in the regions. These effects proved robust after including the objective control variables (population density, intramural research and development (R&D) expenditure, share of tertiary-educated population and employment).
Onnellisten kylät: Vertaileva tapaustutkimus Kumpulan ja Sundsbergin asukkaiden subjektiivisesta hyvinvoinnista sekä onnellisuuden rakentumisesta
The aim of this masters thesis was to examine subjective wellbeing and personal happiness. Empiri... more The aim of this masters thesis was to examine subjective wellbeing and personal happiness. Empirical study of happiness is part of broader wellbeing reseach and is based on an idea that the best experts of personal wellbeing are the individuals themselves. In addition to ...