The Role of Democracy Aspirations in the Well-being of Individuals

Abstract

The present study examines the impact of individuals’ democratic aspirations on their subjective well-being. It includes conceptualizing a theoretical framework and estimating the effects of democracy aspirations. The empirical investigation utilised a sample from 64 countries, encompassing over 80,000 individuals. Data for this study were obtained from the World Values Survey. The empirical findings, derived from the ordinary least squares (OLS) model, exhibit robustness when subjected to alternative specifications. The regression model results suggest a positive relationship between perceived democracy and subjective well-being. The positive impact of perceived democracy on life satisfaction is more profound than financial satisfaction. However, it is crucial to highlight the negative impact of aspirations for democracy on subjective well-being. The findings provide empirical evidence that social media acts as a trigger for democracy aspirations. Social media usage creates a discrepancy between the current and desired levels of democracy, which makes people relatively less satisfied despite a positive trend toward higher levels of democracy in the country.