The Paradox of Wealthy Nations’ Low Adolescent Life Satisfaction can largely be attributed to higher learning intensity

The Paradox of Wealthy Nations’ Low Adolescent Life Satisfaction. Robert Rudolf & Dirk Bethmann. Journal of Happiness Studies, Oct 26 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-022-00595-2

Abstract: Using PISA 2018 data from nearly half a million 15-year-olds across 72 middle- and high-income countries, this study investigates the relationship between economic development and adolescent subjective well-being. Findings indicate a negative log-linear relationship between per-capita GDP and adolescent life satisfaction. The negative nexus stands in stark contrast to the otherwise positive relationship found between GDP per capita and adult life satisfaction for the same countries. Results are robust to various model specifications and both macro and micro approaches. Moreover, our analysis suggests that this apparent paradox can largely be attributed to higher learning intensity in advanced countries. Effects are found to be more pronounced for girls than for boys.

Notes

We define learning intensity as the product of quantity and complexity of learning tasks completed by a student within a given time period, e.g., a school year. The amount of learning that happens in school is known to be positively correlated with the level of economic development of a country. Due to differing returns to education across nations, Becker et al. (1990) concluded that “societies with limited human capital choose large families and invest little in each member; those with abundant human capital do the opposite”. Hence, parental investment in education of their offspring is highest in high-income countries, and so are the expectations that teachers and parents have in the actual cognitive efforts that children exert (Becker et al., 1990; Mincer, 1984). Given the importance of education and the overall level of development, high-income countries also provide higher school quality (World Bank, 2017; 2021). According to the World Bank (2017), “37 million African children will learn so little in school that they will not be much better off than kids who never attended school”. The secular expansion of schooling and of cognitive effort over the twentieth century economic development processes of OECD nations have further been associated with generational gains in intelligence levels and growth in the human prefrontal cortex (Blair et al., 2005; Flynn 1984, 1987).

A growing body of literature documents declining levels of adolescent SWB between the ages 10 and 15 (Casas and González-Carrasco, 2019). If it is true that schoolwork pressure and test requirements increased during early teen age, it would be advisable to control for education-related factors (Wiklund et al., 2012). Comparing PISA 2015 and 2018 data, Marquez and Long (2021) find declining levels of adolescent life satisfaction in 39 out of 46 countries over time.