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Social Capital, Government and Democracy Satisfaction, and Happiness in Turkey: A Comparison of Surveys in 1999 and 2008

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Abstract

Based on data from a 1999 and a 2008 European Values Survey, the main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between a variety of social capital indicators, satisfaction with government and democracy, and subjective well-being. Happiness and life satisfaction were used as outcome measures of subjective well-being. The indicators of social capital used in this study are general trust, trust in institutions, political engagement, concern for others, societal norms, and membership in volunteer organizations. The analyses reveal a significant increase in happiness, life satisfaction, and many social capital variables between 1999 and 2008. Generalized trust, trust in institutions, government satisfaction, and democracy satisfaction are positive correlates of well-being, although some relationships are significant only in 2008. Several demographic variables are also linked with subjective well-being such as income, employment status, age, gender, and education. We discuss the findings in relation to the significant societal, economic, and political changes experienced in Turkey between 1999 and 2008. Policy implications are also emphasized such as improved trust among individuals, trustworthiness of government institutions, and functioning of democracy.

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Notes

  1. Social welfare groups, religious organizations, cultural activities, trade unions, political groups, local community actions, human rights action, environmental groups, professional associations, youth work, sports groups, women’s group, peace movement or health organizations.

  2. For completeness of the paper, we also include ordinary least squares (OLS) results in the appendix table A1 (we would like to thank to an anonymous referee for pointing this out).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Economics Program, Northern Cyprus Campus, Middle East Technical University, Kalkanli, Mersin 10, Turkey

    Tufan Ekici

  2. Guidance and Psychological Counseling Program, Northern Cyprus Campus, Middle East Technical University, Kalkanli, Mersin 10, Turkey

    Selda Koydemir

Authors
  1. Tufan Ekici
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  2. Selda Koydemir
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Correspondence to Selda Koydemir.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 8, 9.

Table 8 Ordinary least square results for life satisfaction and happiness
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Table 9 Cronbach’s alpha for the ındices created
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Ekici, T., Koydemir, S. Social Capital, Government and Democracy Satisfaction, and Happiness in Turkey: A Comparison of Surveys in 1999 and 2008. Soc Indic Res 118, 1031–1053 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0464-y

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