The rural happiness paradox in developed countries

• Published in: Social science research 2021-08, Vol.98, p.102581-102581, Article 102581
• Main Author: Sørensen, Jens F.L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Denmark; Developed Countries; Happiness; Humans; Nature amenities; Personal Satisfaction; Rural happiness paradox; Rural Population; Social Capital; Spatial location satisfaction
• ISSN: 0049-089X; 1096-0317
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102581

In this paper, a national Danish survey is used to explore the rural happiness paradox in developed countries. This paradox revolves around the observation that rural residents tend to report higher subjective well-being than urban residents in developed countries. Based on three different rural-urban classifications, the paper provides a solid confirmation of the rural happiness paradox in Denmark. The paper tests three hypotheses regarding the factors behind the rural happiness paradox and finds strong support for two of the hypotheses. Thus, higher bonding social capital in rural areas and higher access to nature amenities in rural areas were found to contribute to the rural happiness paradox in Denmark. As for the third hypothesis, the paper finds no significant evidence that rural-urban differences in spatial location satisfaction (measured by the correspondence between actual and preferred residential location on the rural-urban continuum) contribute to the rural happiness paradox in Denmark. •Research points to higher well-being among rural dwellers in developed counties.•This tendency in previous findings can be termed the rural happiness paradox (RHP).•The RHP is robustly confirmed in Denmark using three rural-urban classifications.•The paper tests three hypotheses regarding the possible causes of the RHP.•Differences in social capital and access to nature are main factors behind the RHP.