Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Happy Farmer : Self-Employment and Subjective Well-Being in Rural Vietnam

Markussen, Thomas ; Fibæk, Maria LU ; Tarp, Finn and Tuan, Nguyen Do Anh (2018) In Journal of Happiness Studies 19(6). p.1613-1636
Abstract

Using a unique survey data set this paper documents a positive effect of self-employment in farming on subjective well-being. This direct effect is only partly offset by negative, indirect effects working through income and other variables. These findings are interpreted as effects of self-employment in farming on perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness. The results suggest that economic transformation is associated with a psychological cost, which may contribute to explaining earnings gaps between sectors and types of employment. We also investigate other determinants of happiness, and for example find strong positive effects of own income and strong negative effects of neighbors’ income, suggesting the importance of relative... (More)

Using a unique survey data set this paper documents a positive effect of self-employment in farming on subjective well-being. This direct effect is only partly offset by negative, indirect effects working through income and other variables. These findings are interpreted as effects of self-employment in farming on perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness. The results suggest that economic transformation is associated with a psychological cost, which may contribute to explaining earnings gaps between sectors and types of employment. We also investigate other determinants of happiness, and for example find strong positive effects of own income and strong negative effects of neighbors’ income, suggesting the importance of relative rather than absolute levels of income.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Agriculture, Happiness, Self-employment, Vietnam, Wage work
in
Journal of Happiness Studies
volume
19
issue
6
pages
1613 - 1636
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85019226771
ISSN
1389-4978
DOI
10.1007/s10902-017-9858-x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b0a59478-2e7d-4166-9576-722a00aa38fc
date added to LUP
2017-05-30 08:02:55
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:15:22
@article{b0a59478-2e7d-4166-9576-722a00aa38fc,
  abstract     = {{<p>Using a unique survey data set this paper documents a positive effect of self-employment in farming on subjective well-being. This direct effect is only partly offset by negative, indirect effects working through income and other variables. These findings are interpreted as effects of self-employment in farming on perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness. The results suggest that economic transformation is associated with a psychological cost, which may contribute to explaining earnings gaps between sectors and types of employment. We also investigate other determinants of happiness, and for example find strong positive effects of own income and strong negative effects of neighbors’ income, suggesting the importance of relative rather than absolute levels of income.</p>}},
  author       = {{Markussen, Thomas and Fibæk, Maria and Tarp, Finn and Tuan, Nguyen Do Anh}},
  issn         = {{1389-4978}},
  keywords     = {{Agriculture; Happiness; Self-employment; Vietnam; Wage work}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{1613--1636}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Journal of Happiness Studies}},
  title        = {{The Happy Farmer : Self-Employment and Subjective Well-Being in Rural Vietnam}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9858-x}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s10902-017-9858-x}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}