Happiness, generativity and social preferences are pivotal factors for the betterment and sustainability of societies. However, little is known about the relationships among happiness, generativity and social preferences, along with sociodemographic factors, within a single analytical framework. We hypothesize that generativity and social preferences are the determinants of happiness, posing a research question “Are people happier by being prosocial and/or generative for sustainability?” We conduct a survey experiment, collecting data from five subjective happiness scales, generativity, social value orientation and sociodemographic variables in one urban area (Dhaka) and two rural areas (Bogra and Gaibandha) in Bangladesh. With the data, we empirically characterize determinants of subjective happiness with a focus on generativity and social value orientation, controlling for sociodemographic factors. The statistical analysis consistently shows a positive association between subjective happiness and generativity, irrespective of the type of happiness scale, while social value orientation does not exhibit any significance. Rural residents have lower peer relative happiness than urban residents, and household income has a positive relationship with general subjective happiness, leading each of these factors to be significant in overall subjective happiness. In summary, generativity, income and residence area are main determinants of happiness, implying that further urbanization, which is expected to occur in the future, will positively affect people’s happiness if it can bring about an increase in generativity. These results also suggest a possibility that people are happier by being more generative for sustainability, and some new institutional framework such as future design shall be recommended to enhance generativity.

Happiness, Generativity and Social Preferences in a Developing Country: A Possibility of Future Design

Corporate social responsibility reporting in family firms: Evidence from China

This article is the first to examine whether bribery hurts or promotes policy consistency for firms confronting institutional and credit constraints by using World Bank Enterprise Surveys covering 104 developing countries from 2002 to 2006. By using the questionnaire that is only available in the 2002-2006 survey, policy consistency is measured by firms’ perception of the degree of consistency in officials’ interpretation of the law. Bribery reduces the consistency of policy implementation. The adverse impact of bribery on policy consistency is evident only in lower-income countries. Furthermore, these effects become more significant for firms facing institutional and credit constraints. 

The moderating role of institutional and credit constraints on the nexus between bribery and policy consistency

Local corruption and capital structure

Corruption affects corporate investment and diverts resources away from growth-improving factors, including R&D activities and human capital, thereby lowering productivity. Using a time-varying difference-in-differences approach, we identified the causal effect of China's anti-corruption campaign on corporate productivity during 2011–2021. The findings uncovered that China's anti-corruption campaign increased corporate productivity by approximately 18.43%. Results from heterogeneity analysis showed that the promoting effect was particularly significant in non-state-owned firms, firms without political ties, and firms in areas with weak legal systems. Additional mechanism analysis revealed that firm productivity could be significantly boosted by improving resource allocation efficiency and advancing technological innovation. 

Do China's anti-corruption efforts improve corporate productivity? A difference-in-difference exploration of Chinese listed enterprises

Local Corruption and Dividend Policy: Evidence from China

(1993). Problems of communism and changes in China. Journal of Contemporary China: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 82-86.

Problems of communism and changes in China

There is a growing face-value acceptance of optimism bias as the primary cause of transport cost overruns. This article provides a timely review of literature on optimism bias and transport infrastructure project cost overruns. The article identifies significant gaps and unanswered questions about the relationship between optimism bias in project cost appraisal and cases of transport infrastructure cost overruns. The presence and nature of optimism bias in the complex institutional environment of project cost appraisal are largely understudied and not well understood. Consequently, this has significant implications for the development of effective mitigation strategies for improving transport project cost performance.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/87569728231180268

Yizi Chen

Papers

Local Corruption and Dividend Policy: Evidence from China

Problems of communism and changes in China

Toward a Deeper Understanding of Optimism Bias and Transport Project Cost Overrun