Happiness, Wellbeing and Society

As Singapore continues to grow as a nation, the happiness and wellbeing of Singaporeans and what matters to them also change. This book conceptualizes and measures the cognitive and affective aspects of subjective wellbeing from multiple perspectives and relates these to important factors such as values, trust, democratic rights, views about politics and the role of the government. Through nationwide surveys using representative samples, including insights from the most recent 2016 Quality of Life (QOL) Survey, this book examines how happiness and subjective wellbeing have evolved over the past 20 years in Singapore. This book is an invaluable resource for those interested in how the study of happiness and wellbeing in Singapore connects with and contributes to the ongoing research and discourse on happiness and wellbeing around the world.

Siok Kuan Tambyah is Associate Professor at the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore. Her research interests include consumption and identity, ethnicity, gender, luxury consumption, consumer culture, values and lifestyles, and cross-cultural consumer behavior. In addition to journal articles on consumer behavior, services marketing and quality of life, she has co-authored three books on values, lifestyles and wellbeing in Singapore. Soo Jiuan Tan is Associate Professor at the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore. Her research is in the areas of international market entry strategies, consumer values and lifestyles, parallel importing, game theoretic applications in marketing and new product management. She has published in leading international journals and is also the co-author of five books: Seven Faces of Singaporeans, Competing for Markets: Growth Strategies for SMEs, Understanding Singaporeans: Values, Lifestyles, Aspirations and Consumption Behaviors, The Wellbeing of Singaporeans, and Happiness and Wellbeing: The Singaporean Experience.

1. Introduction, Context and Research Methodology 2. Subjective Wellbeing (I): Satisfaction with Life, Life Domains and Living in Singapore 3. Subjective Wellbeing (II): Happiness, Enjoyment, Achievement, and Other Aspects 4. Does Money Buy Happiness in Singapore? 5. Values and their Influence on Singaporeans' Subjective Wellbeing 6. Clustering of Singaporeans 7. Trust and Social Capital: Nurturing a Conducive Environment for Wellbeing 8. Rights, Politics and the Role of the Government 9. Conclusion