HAVING a high income is not a guarantee for happiness in the Philippines—at least in Koronadal City—according to a new study by a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).
In her study titled “Income and Happiness: A Philippine Context,” ADMU Department of Economics Professor Rosalina Palanca-Tan said possessions such as mobile phones and homes with bedrooms affect Filipinos happiness.
She also found that in Koronadal City, having savings; an absence of debts; and, being a member of a co-operative makes residents happy.
“The results generally indicate that the magnitude of the impact of income on happiness, although statistically significant, is rather minute,” Tan said in her study.
“This finding reflects that people in Koronadal are generally happy even with low incomes, which is consistent with the happy poor image of the Filipino poor,” she added.
With this, Tan said, the conditional cash transfer program of the government, which provides direct cash transfers to poor families, does not significantly affect the happiness of these families.
“The results suggest that other programs such as increasing accessibility and affordability of goods and services that make daily life convenient and comfortable as well as free of financial uncertainties and worries (e.g. incentives and other support for credit cooperatives) may be more effective in raising people’s life-satisfaction or well-being than direct income-augmenting programs,” the study stated.
Tan’s findings showed that after reaching a monthly income of P20,000, income becomes less of a reason for Koronadal City residents to be happy.
Based on the findings, 522 respondents had a mean happiness score of 6.75. While the mean happiness score increases from one income group to another, the difference in the happiness of those earning P10,000 to P19,999 a month and P20,000 to P49,999 is not that wide.
The mean happiness score of those receiving P10,000 to P19,999 monthly was at 6.87 while those receiving P20,000 to P49,999 was at 7.02. This only translated to a mean score difference of 0.15.
The mean happiness score of those earning below P10,000 a month is 6.31, a 0.56 difference from the 6.87 score of those in the higher income bracket of P10,000 to P19,999 per month.
“The econometric results indicate that beyond the income level P20,000, income does no longer significantly affect happiness,” Tan said in an e-mail to BusinessMirror.
“I would not refer to P20,000 as the happiness income threshold. The poverty income threshold differentiates between the poor and non-poor. If you apply a parallel definition, the ‘happiness’ income threshold differentiate the happy and unhappy, which is not the correct interpretation of P20,000,” Tan explained.
The average respondent in the study is 44 years old. Around 26 percent are male. About 13 percent of respondents had gone to elementary school, 50 percent to high school, 5 percent to vocational school and 31 percent reached the collegiate level.
Only a few had no formal education or had pursued graduate studies. The average household has five members.
The average monthly household income is P19,444 or $384.20. Only 52 percent reside in urban areas.
Most or 96 percent of respondents have mobile phones. On average, the respondents live in a two-bedroom house and consume meat only two days a week.
There are more respondents with outstanding loans at 59 percent than savings at 50 percent. Almost 15 percent of respondents are members of cooperatives, some 72 percent are affiliated with credit cooperatives.