Devrim Dumladag, Ozge Gokdemir and Ruut Veenhoven
International journal of Business and Applied Social Sciences (IJBASS), 7 (10).
E-ISSN2469-650. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.33642/ijbass.v7n10p5
Abstract
In economic theory ‘consumption’ is commonly seen as final ‘utility’, but the factual relationship between consumption and life-satisfaction has hardly been considered. Empirical research on this matter can provide a basis for more informed consumer choice. We add to the emerging literature on this matter with a survey study among the general public in Turkey.
For the degree of absolute consumption, we found a negative relationship with life-satisfaction, savers being happier than spenders. For kinds of consumption we found mostly negative correlations with life-satisfaction, in particular with housing expenses. The only positive correlation with life-satisfaction was expenses on eating out and vacations.
These results illustrate that the relationship between consumption and life-satisfaction is more complex and variable than is commonly assumed.
Keywords: consumer behavior, experienced utility, contextual variation, happiness, life satisfaction, absolute consumption, savings.
Jel. Codes: D11, D12, D14, I31