An International Study of Democracy and Perceived Wellbeing

Abstract

The present study evaluated 85,000 respondents (from almost 60 nations) in the World Values Survey (Wave -6) and the link between perceived democracy and income brackets, plus their current state of health, happiness, and satisfaction with both life and finances. Mean scores for each nation then informed a secondary analysis by including GDP/capita. Results showed that income brackets were correlated to health and financial satisfaction while GDP/capita correlated with financial satisfaction among both high and lowincome levels. Multiple regression analyses confirmed the hypotheses: (a) that higher perceived democracy was positively related to wellbeing and health; and (b) that the relation between perceived democracy and wellbeing was moderated by income, with stronger correlations observed in both low-income and highincome (but not middle-income) nations. We conclude that democratic nations offer more personal and political freedoms, while securing better wages, income, and health care opportunities for their citizens. Future research is discussed.